In Cooperstown, New York, the fracking fight has taken a nasty turn. Consider, for instance, a letter that resident Kim Jastremski received—she was one of nearly a dozen who received similar correspondence—that not only compared her and other fracking opponents to Nazis, but told these residents that they were being watched when picking up their [...]

A U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) study has concluded that the controversial birth control pills, Yaz and Yasmin, increase blood clot odds more than earlier generation oral birth control medications. The FDA study looked at medical history for over 800,000 U.S. women from 2001 through 2007 who took a variety of oral birth control [...]

New York environmentalists and industry are facing a delay in a long-awaited air pollution rule that has both sides worried. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) just announced that it is delaying, again, final hydraulic fracturing emission standards. The EPA putting off the fracking air pollution rules buys the agency some time to finalize the [...]

The oral contraceptive drospirenone—commonly known as Bayer’s brands Yaz and Yasmin—have been linked to blood clot risks in recent study. The Danish study found that women taking Yas and Yasmin are likely doubling their risks for venous thromboembolism (VTE) when compared to women taking levonorgestrel-containing oral contraceptives (OCs), said MedScape. The study was published yesterday [...]

A collaborative study between researchers at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)  has linked SSRI antidepressants to traits consistent with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). The study found that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants taken during pregnancy could be a factor in the significant increase in [...]

A seismology expert in England has tied two earthquakes there to hydraulic fracturing—fracking—activities in the area. This is not the first time that earthquakes have been linked to the highly controversial natural gas drilling process in other countries. According to the New York Times, seismologist Brian Baptie, the seismic project team leader for the British [...]

In the midst of mounting legal claims over one of  Johnson & Johnson’s transvaginal mesh devices,  it seems that the device was subject to a controversial U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval protoacol. The vaginal implant, the Gynecare TVT, was approved in a process that expedited its release to market and that was based [...]

In response to a U.S. Justice Department probe, Abbott Laboratories, maker of controversial epilepsy medication, Depakote (valproate sodium), has set aside $1.5 billion to settle its Depakote marketing lawsuit. The lawsuit involves alleged off-label marketing activities. Although overshadowed with news about Abbott splitting into two companies, the $1.5 billion settlement will be the second largest [...]

Canadian drug watchdog, the Therapeutics Initiative at the University of British Columbia, is questioning a recent study conducted on blood thinner Pradaxa (dabigatran). The drug safety monitoring group questions the validity of the trials following reports of Pradaxa problems in New Zealand and is urging for more studies before the medicine is deemed safe, said [...]

A new Zoloft lawsuit alleges that that the antidepressant, Zoloft, caused fatal birth defects in a newborn. The lawsuit, filed in Ohio state court, charges drug maker Pfizer with—in addition to wrongful death—defective manufacturing, design defect, failure to warn, negligence and gross negligence, fraud, false advertising, and breach of express and implied warranties. “Pfizer knew [...]