Cattle gallstones are valuable due to their use in Chinese medicine. Some stones sell for twice the price of gold.

A prized ingredient in China’s multibillion-dollar industry for traditional medicine, gallstones have become the must-have item among underground traders and armed robbers in Brazil.

Findings from a new study “support the hypothesis that statin intake on a regular basis is associated with a risk reduction of developing a new gallstone diagnosis followed by cholecystectomy ...