Science is almost equally as dangerous as it is helpful. Prescription medications, for example, all too often turn out to have deadly side-effects that are seemingly unrelated at all to what they were originally intended to do.

But until we develop other methods, a big part of the learning curve for scientists is watching what happens once a new drug has been approved for general human use. There's just no way they can reproduce that kind of research in a lab setting, and they learn new things about old drugs all the time.

Medications for heartburn, blood pressure, breast cancer, and osteoporosis all have risks that you may not be aware of -- like an increased chance for breaking a hip or developing diabetes. Read this article for the latest on these 4 common prescriptions, and consider talking with your doctor about any new findings on other meds you may be taking.