womens health

By the time Victoria Cooper enrolled in an alcohol treatment program in 2018, she was "drinking for survival," not pleasure, she says — multiple vodka shots in the morning, at lunchtime and beyond. In the treatment program, she saw other women in their 20s struggling with alcohol and other drugs. "It was the first time in a very long time that I had not felt alone," she says.

Women Now Drink As Much As Men — Not So Much For Pleasure, But To Cope

Aneri Pattani

Women aren't just upping their drinking, researchers say. Increasingly they are "drinking to cope," instead of for pleasure — which accelerates the risk of alcohol use disorder and its health damage.

NPR Health

Researchers Explore Why Women's Alzheimer's Risk Is Higher Than Men's

Jon Hamilton

Scientists are gaining insights into why Alzheimer's is more common in women. The answer involves genetics, hormones and sex-related brain differences.

Their research is still in early stages, but Kristin Myers (left), a mechanical engineer, and Dr. Joy Vink, an OB-GYN, both at Columbia University, have already learned that cervical tissue is a more complicated mix of material than doctors ever realized.

NPR Health

Scientific Duo Gets Back To Basics To Make Childbirth Safer

Alison Kodjak

Remarkably little is known about the fundamentals of how a woman carries a baby inside her. Two Columbia University researchers aim to change that, to reduce the number of kids born too soon.