Similarly, over the last 30 years flame-retardant chemicals known as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) have been widely used, although little is known about their broader effects.

ECONOMIST: Fire retardants may affect female reproduction

"In this Internet day and age, just assume that everything you put out into the ethers in writing is the equivalent of LiveJournals of yore, " said Brenna Ehrlich, a senior editor at MTV and a CNN Tech contributor who has written about online etiquette.

CNN: Lessons from the sorority-girl e-mail rant