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Every once in awhile somebody will go and get themselves bitten by a venomous snake, and come home with an outrageous hospital bill that makes headlines. Nobody expects antivenom to be cheap. Making the most common rattlesnake antivenom, for instance, involves injecting sheep with snake venom and then harvesting the antibodies produced by the animals' immune systems. But does that process, complicated as it may be, add up to the estimated $2,300 per vial hospitals pay for the stuff? (Ingraham, 9/9)

Imagine a pill that mimics the effects of vigorous exercise on the body. Three years ago, Bruce Spiegelman, a prominent Harvard scientist, said he had discovered an “exercise hormone” that promised to unlock a new way to treat obesity and diabetes. It didn’t take long before a leading biotech VC firm, Third Rock Ventures, made a big bet on the hormone. Feverish press coverage followed, hailing a potential new miracle drug. So why did Third Rock quietly pull the plug on the project earlier this year? (Chen, 9/10)