Although full results are not known, Celgene announced in its second-quarter earnings release Thursday that the study had been stopped ahead of schedule because the difference between patients getting Revlimid and those on a control group was already apparent.

FORBES: Inside Medicine

Ninety-three patients who took Vytorin in the study developed cancer, compared to 65 on placebo, a statistically significant difference.

FORBES: Another Blow For Merck And Schering

And a study by Durham University does cast doubt on whether the pupil premium will make the kind of difference the Lib Dems are hoping for.

BBC: Pupil Premium's first year: Grade A or could do better?

While niacin showed no difference from placebo in the death rate of the men in this study, fewer patients on niacin had a non-fatal heart attack or stroke, by 26% and 24%, respectively.

FORBES: Niacin, Statins And Difficulties Of Drug Discovery

Yet according to a 2006 study British homes are on average smaller than those in Germany, France or the Netherlands, for example, and the difference has been widening.

ECONOMIST: Houses and prices