WASHINGTON (AP) - The popular anti-wrinkle drug Botox and a competitor Myobloc have been linked to some deaths and other severe side effects suggestive of botulism, the government warned doctors Friday.

The drugs use botulinum toxin, which blocks nerve impulses to muscles, causing them to relax.

But in rare cases, the toxin may have spread beyond the injection site to other parts of the body, resulting in such problems as paralysis of respiratory muscles and difficulty swallowing, the Food and Drug Administration said.

(NECN/ABC) - Scientists have discovered molecules that can determine whether cancer tumors will spread to other parts of the body.

Take breast cancer survivor Cathe Sheehan for example. She doesn't mind telling her age.

"I'm gonna be 50. Can't wait. Cannot wait," laughs Sheehan.

When Sheehan's breast cancer recently recurred, she endured a double mastectomy to keep it from spreading.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - After two months of delay, shuttle Atlantis blasted off Thursday with Europe's gift to the international space station, a $2 billion science lab named Columbus that spent years waiting to set sail.

Atlantis and its seven-man crew roared away from their seaside launch pad at 2:45 p.m., overcoming fuel gauge problems that thwarted back-to-back launch attempts in December.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Merck and Co. has agreed to pay $399 million plus interest to the federal government, 49 states and the District of Columbia to settle claims that it overcharged Medicaid programs for two big-selling drugs, U.S. prosecutors announced Thursday.

The settlement with Merck also resolves allegations that the company paid improper inducements to doctors to prescribe the cholesterol drug Zocor and the painkiller Vioxx.

Drug companies are required to report to the government the lowest price for its product to ensure that Medicaid programs get

(NECN/ABC) - Despite weather concerns, the seven member crew of the shuttle Atlantis began suiting up in anticipation of this afternoon's launch.

The skies look fairly clear now at the launch pad, but the weather system that spawned the deadly tornadoes on Tuesday is heading towards Florida.

Forecasters say the front has a lot of its punch, and NASA officials are hoping that any rain showers will hit later in the day.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER (AP) - NASA has cleared one big hurdle on the way to today's scheduled space shuttle launch.

The fuel gauges that have been acting up and causing delays for a couple of years now have been repaired and seem to be working just fine. Launch director Doug Lyons says there's "excitement" in the firing room because the engine cutoff sensors have tested well, and "we're ready to go fly."

That means the weather is the only remaining issue standing in the way of Atlantis blasting off at 2:45 this afternoon Eastern

(NECN) - Dr. Brindha Muniappan from the museum of science explains on this week's sci tech exactly what gives eyes their color.

Many people remember from high school biology that blue eye color is a recessive trait. It turns out that eye color is actually much more complicated and isn't determined by just one gene. One primary eye color gene called OCA2 is involved in making melanin, the pigment that gives color to eyes and hair and can produce brown or green or hazel eyes. However, extensively searching this gene has not resulted in information on how blue eye color is produced.

(NECN) - After many delays, Atlantis is scheduled to lift off Thursday but bad weather could put the launch on hold again. Adam Weiss of the Boston Museum of Science joins with more information.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER (AP) - Seven astronauts flew into Florida from Houston this morning, and say they are eager to blast off on Atlantis after a two-month delay.

Thursday's launch-day weather is sketchy, but mission commander Steve Frick says everything else is "looking just great." NASA engineers think a big problem with glitchy fuel gauges in the space shuttle's external tank has finally been fixed. And a little problem with a bend in a cooling-system hose also has been resolved.

The crew is set to spend 11 days in space, delivering a

(NECN) - You know that frustration you may occasionally feel while trying to read an email or open an attachment, when you don't have the right software…search around the internet look for the right update or plug in and try again. Maybe. Oh wait….you are on XP and it only works on Vista…or Linux or OS X…what do you do?