Suits seeking to pin blame for birth defect "clusters" on environmental pollution have mostly fared poorly in this country, given the typically weak nature of the epidemiological and causation evidence and the hurdles posed by Daubert and other gatekeeping methods. Courts in the United Kingdom, however, have now decided to let one such potentially major case go forward. "The High Court ruled that Corby Borough Council's reclamation of a former steelworks was capable of leading to some or all of the birth defects displayed in 16 of the 18 children. The ruling could open the way to compensation claims." [Times Online, BBC, Telegraph]