Everybody loves the way breakfast eggs conveniently slide off of Teflon without leaving any pesky pieces of egg in the pan. Indeed, the carbon-fluorine bond at the heart of Teflon cookware is so helpful we also use it in clothing, lubricants, refrigerants, anesthetics, semiconductors, and even blood substitutes.

A common asthma inhaler powered by a new propellant is safe and effective but could come at nearly triple the cost to consumers until a generic version hits the market, according to a review in today's (March 29) New England Journal of Medicine.