Nancy Shute

The vaccine against human papillomavirus is recommended for girls and young women to prevent cervical cancer. A study finds it also protects against genital warts, a common sexually transmitted disease, even if people get less than the recommended three shots.

Women's reduced ability to recover physically after a stroke may have big effects on their quality of life. Researchers don't know why women don't fare as well as men after strokes, but they say it's a topic in need of attention.

Women face a higher risk of stroke than men. But until now there haven't been guidelines specific to women for managing the risk. New recommendations say women should start thinking about reducing their stroke risk early on, when they're thinking about getting pregnant or avoiding pregnancy.

Even people with good memories can have a hard time remembering the past accurately. That may be because the brain is constantly editing memories, updating them with current information. This may make good evolutionary sense. But it also means that some of your cherished memories may be wrong.

Billions of dollars are spent each year on mammograms to screen for breast cancer. If American women are screened less frequently, the cost savings might be used to better tailor the care for women at an increased risk of cancer.

The HPV vaccine is recommended for girls and boys when they are 11 or 12. The idea is to get preteens vaccinated so that if they do become sexually active as teens, they will be protected against a virus that can cause cervical cancer.

Aerobic exercise reduces the risk of diabetes. But it looks like muscle-strengthening exercises help, too, according to the Nurses Health Studies. Even supposedly lighter forms of exercise like yoga and stretching reduced women's risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

More and more women are getting diabetes while pregnant, which can be risky for both mother and child. But the condition can be successfully treated, which is why a panel that sets standards for preventive care has called for all pregnant women to be screened.

Older people who took a few weeks of classes to train their brains reported doing slightly better at activities of daily living a decade later compared with people who hadn't been trained. But the perceived difference might be explained by the expectation that training would help.

Hot air balloon tours are popular with tourists and people looking for the thrill of a lifetime. But accidents can cause injuries and death, a study finds. Leg and ankle fractures were among the most common serious injuries. Most of the problems happen when balloons land badly.