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The journal Science has now fully retracted a paper it published in 2009 that linked chronic fatigue syndrome to the retrovirus XMRV.

Central to the drug-shortage issue is a chicken-and-egg question that often leaves legislators scratching their heads at congressional hearings.

Chicken: Are the shortages of crucial drugs caused by factory flaws and shutdowns? Or egg: Are shortages somehow caused by economics, like the thin profit margins of generic drugs?

A federal report to be released Thursday comes down with both feet in the chicken camp.

The Food and Drug Administration’s decision to revoke approval of Roche’s Avastin for advanced breast cancer is likely to curtail use of the $6 billion-a-year drug for such patients. But it’s not likely to put an end to prescribing.

Today’s action doesn’t affect the drug’s other approved uses, which include certain types of colon, lung, kidney and brain cancers, the FDA said. And physicians are free to prescribe an approved drug for any use they see fit.

The WSJ reports today on the two-decade quest to develop drugs for cystic fibrosis following the discovery of the gene responsible for the respiratory disease.

In addition to the scientific hurdles, a big challenge facing those seeking treatments was finding a company willing to make the investment. “Very few returned my call,” recalls Robert Beall, chief executive of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

A new federal proposal to give all patients in the U.S. direct electronic access to their lab results could make it easier to track important health markers like cholesterol levels and the body’s response to blood thinners – – with an iPhone.

Pulling Fruit: Colorado-based Jensen Farms is recalling cantaloupes sold between July 29 and Sept. 10 on fears that they might be tainted by listeria bacteria, the WSJ reports. A multi-state outbreak of listeriosis has sickened 16 people and killed one of them, but the FDA and Colorado public-health authorities have not indicated whether the farm’s cantaloupes are the source of the outbreak, the paper says.

The Institute of Medicine’s much-anticipated recommendations for which women’s health services should be covered by health plans without co-pays or deductibles came out yesterday. Among the eight services it recommends insurers cover at no extra charge — HHS will make the final decision — are all forms of approved contraception, breastfeeding support and breast-pump rentals and domestic-violence screening.

Drug Study: A research review published by the Canadian Medical Association Journal finds that Pfizer’s anti-smoking drug Chantix is linked to a 72% increase in the risk of heart problems, the WSJ reports. A commentary authored by a physician who has received funding from Pfizer argues that a small drug-related risk is overshadowed by the cardiac benefits of smoking cessation.