EPA, which ruled -- which ruling set in motion the scientific process to determine whether the public health was threatened by carbon dioxide as a pollutant.

WHITEHOUSE: Press Briefing

That ruling was a huge boon to Boston Scientific, but it doesn't clear the field entirely.

FORBES: The Overachievers: Boston Scientific Has Heart

After that was ruled illegal in June, Guidant was left with few options: strike a deal with Boston Scientific, buy Cook, find a viable way around the ruling or sit out the market until its second-generation product was approved.

FORBES: Magazine Article

But the Supreme Court has undermined that idea over the years, most powerfully with its Daubert ruling in 1993, ordering judges to determine the credibility of scientific witnesses before they can even be allowed to provide evidence in civil lawsuits.

FORBES: Class-Action Lawyers Face Triple Threat At Supreme Court