There has been a series of confusing studies over estrogen. Many menopausal women went off the drug when increased rates of breast cancer were found. However, recent findings are challenging this conventional wisdom as a "major government study has found that years after using estrogen-only therapy, certain women had a markedly reduced risk of breast cancer and heart attack," according to The New York Times. The key, says Tara Parker-Pope, reporter for The New York Times, is that these women were only on estrogen, and not progestin. She explains the findings and what this means for women.

As we await the peak season for the H1N1 virus, one simple act may prevent the spread of infection: washing your hands. According to new research in the journal Risk Analysis, one-third of the risk for H1N1 infection comes from hand-to-face contact. We talk with Tara Parker-Pope, who writes the "Well" column for the New York Times, about why the routine act of washing your hands can have such big consequences for public health.