In terms output per dollar spent, drug development has never been as slow as it is now. As we have so many more scientific techniques than in previous decades so this slowing should be very surprising. Ben and Saloni talk to Ruxandra Teslo about what can be done about this. Should we have more vouchers so special conditions can bypass some of the FDA's bureaucracy? Why are so many biotech companies moving to Australia? How can we reform ethics boards? Which regulations make clinical trials more reliable? Why is there so much more money being spent on curing osteoporosis?

Competition makes capitalism work. A new method for measuring it may be the holy grail of economic regulation. You can see the images, graphs and read the article at https://worksinprogress.co/issue/how-to-spot-a-monopoly/

And you can find the rest of Works in Progress at worksinprogress.co

Words by Brian Albrecht
Read by Stuart Ritchie
Music by David Hackett

We disinfect water before we drink it. Germicidal ultraviolet could make airborne disease as rare as those carried by water. You can see the images, graphs and read the article at https://worksinprogress.co/issue/the-death-rays-that-guard-life/

And you can find the rest of Works in Progress at worksinprogress.co

Words by Gavriel Kleinwaks & Karam Elabd
Read by Stuart Ritchie
Music by David Hackett