Judicial Notice of Adjudicative Facts

Reference FRE 201

Plaintiffs who contracted cancer after exposure to asbestos file a product liability action against the leading asbestos manufacturer. Plaintiffs request that the court take judicial notice that asbestos causes cancer.

What ruling? Assume the request is granted. Is the defendant then barred from trying to prove the contrary? Is the defendant barred from arguing to the jury that asbestos does not cause cancer?