Male pattern baldness accounts for more than 95% of hair loss in men and is characterized by thinning hair, hair loss, and a receding hairline.

40% of women will have noticeable hair loss by age 50.

Male pattern baldness is not solely inherited from the maternal side; its causes are still under investigation, but scientists think the genetic component of this type of hair loss involves multiple genes.

Humans may have as many as 100,000 to 150,000 individual hairs on our scalps, growing at a rate of roughly 1 centimeter per month.

In 1909, a top public health official in America wrote in an academic journal that baldness was caused almost exclusively by snug-fitting hats.

A man’s genes can predict his hairline

There’s actually some truth to the idea that you should look at your mother’s father. But genetic research tells us that the full picture is somewhat more complicated. An interesting read on how to use genetics to figure out if you'll go bald (with illustrations).

Telogen effluvium is a common, temporary type of hair loss that can be triggered by severe stress, illness, or other body changes like childbirth—it pushes as much as 70% of hair into its resting phase, causing hair to fall out.

It's been about 30 years since a new hair loss drug was approved in the US, and women currently have no approved pills for hair loss.

Late-stage clinical trials indicate that a common arthritis drug may be a promising treatment for a leading cause of hair loss.

Women experience heightened bone loss after menopause

Both women and men begin to lose some bone density after age 35, on average. But, for the first decade after menopause, women lose bone more rapidly due to the significantly decreased levels of estrogen, putting women at heightened risk of osteoporosis and related bone fractures.

Hair loss after childbirth happens because pregnancy hormones paused the normal hair shedding process during pregnancy, so the hair loss is actually your hair cycle 'catching up' with its normal process several months postpartum.

Mapping hearing loss in the US

Nearly 10% of Americans suffer from some degree of hearing loss, measured as the inability to hear sounds lower than 25 decibels. The incidence of hearing loss increases with age and is typically higher among men. Recent analysis produced a puzzling observation researchers can't quite explain: There's a larger incidence of hearing loss among rural populations than in urban centers. Explore the data with this map and explainer.

Real-time tracking of individual hair cells has revealed that hairs don't actually get pushed out from the root—instead, hair cells are tugged upward by surrounding tissues that act like tiny motors.

Age-related macular degeneration is the primary cause of blindness in older Americans.

A 40-something science journalist was getting more winded during workouts, and experiencing night sweats, forgetfulness and tiredness—she thought it was perimenopause, but these common symptoms turned out to be signs of her blood cancer.

See worldwide hearing loss by age group and country

This 2023 data from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation shows the estimated number of people with complete hearing loss in different age groups per 100,000 people in the population. Individuals aged 70 or older make up the largest group with this type of hearing deficit.

How menopause affects mental health

Menopause, a natural biological process, occurs in three stages: perimenopause (hormone fluctuations), menopause (end of menstrual cycles), and postmenopause (12 months without menstruation). Hormonal shifts during this time can affect neurotransmitters, increasing the risk of mood disorders.

We're typically born with all the hair follicles we'll ever have, just as women are born with all their eggs.

What is medical menopause?

Medical menopause is when menopause is induced from either surgery or medicine. Chemotherapy and radiation, as well as oophorectomy (a surgical procedure that removes the ovaries) and a radical hysterectomy can cause a woman to become menopausal. Women that go through medical menopause experience the same symptoms as women that experience natural menopause. Learn more about the medical condition here.

The gaps in menopause research and their effects

Nearly all studies (99%) researching the biology of aging don’t consider menopause in their setup. A Harvard professor noted that about 75% of aging-related diseases are likely influenced by menopause. In this article, she discusses how gaps in research are negatively impacting how the medical system can effectively treat aging women. Read her analysis of the issue here.

Less than 1% of aging studies consider menopause and its effects

Nearly all studies researching the biology of aging don't consider menopause in their setup. In part, that's because menopause is difficult to emulate in animal models. Menopause is uncommon in the animal world beyond humans and whales. This presents a problem for medicine and science because about 75% of aging-related diseases are likely influenced by menopause.

MS disproportionately sickens women, but men tend to have worse outcomes

Though the disease is more common in women, men's symptoms progress more quickly, with men more often diagnosed with progressive MS and men's cases typically resulting in more severe symptoms—perhaps due at least partly to more delayed diagnosis—and more severe disability over time.

Prostate cancer is both manageable and the second-deadliest cancer for men

One in 44 men in the US will die from prostate cancer, while one in eight will be diagnosed with it. Commonly viewed as the safest cancer to have, screenings can save lives—but they can also cause complications for otherwise benign cases of the disease.

Early menopause, occurring before age 45, can be triggered by certain risk factors

Some potential causes of early menopause include autoimmune disorders, chemotherapy, smoking, and certain surgeries that cause the body to produce lower levels of estrogen and progesterone.

What to know about early and premature menopause

Although it's rare, some women may experience menopause early. Early menopause describes women that are menopausal between the ages of 40 and 45. Women that go through menopause before age 40 experience premature menopause. Early experiences of menopause impact under 6% of women, and doctors can’t point to a specific reason why it happens. Learn about what we do know about the conditions here.

Late-onset menopause lowers osteoporosis risks, but heightens the risks for certain cancers

Defined as when a woman starts to experience perimenopause after age 55, late-onset menopause is linked to an elevated risk of developing breast, ovarian, and uterine cancers.

Postmenopause is a stage lasting roughly a third of a woman's life

Postmenopause is the final stage of menopause, occurring once a woman hasn't had any vaginal bleeding for a full year. She is then considered postmenopausal for the rest of her life. While some of the intense symptoms she might experience during postmenopause will decline, her risk for certain conditions and diseases will increase.

Cleopatra purportedly recommended grinding up fly heads and rubbing them on areas experiencing hair loss as a treatment.

Adults may lose roughly 3% of their muscle mass each decade after 30.

Learn the differences between mild cognitive impairment and age-associated memory loss

Mild cognitive impairment is a condition in which people experience more thinking and memory problems than expected for their age. It's often associated with depression and anxiety. Daily routines, writing things down, and healthy lifestyle choices can help cope with the condition, but there's no cure. The condition elevates the risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer's.

Stress contributes to gray hair because when the body experiences stress, the sympathetic nervous system releases specific hormones that influence pigment-producing cells.

Doctors use three key physical markers to determine biological aging

The length of the ends of chromosomes (known as "telomeres"), the gradual change in collections of DNA molecules called "methyl groups", and the secretion of inflammatory proteins are all used as indicators of biological age.

By 2030, roughly 6% of the world's population will be in menopause

An estimated 25 million women pass through menopause annually, with a projected increase in the number of women in menopause in both lower-resource and higher-income populations in the years ahead, highlighting the social and economic value of focusing on menopause care.

Age-related hearing loss, known as presbycusis, is a top cause of hearing loss

This video walks through the biology of why presbycusis (prez-buh-kyoo-sis) occurs and its etiology. This type of hearing loss is gradual and typically starts with reductions in the ability to hear high-pitched sounds.

Scalp cooling caps may help prevent hair loss during chemotherapy by temporarily reducing blood flow to the scalp, thereby reducing the amount of chemotherapy that reaches hair follicles.

Your brain appears to age in five distinct stages, with the pattern of connections inside your brain shifting, on average, around ages 9, 32, 66, and 83.

Aging explained with Dr. Nick Golinvaux

Aging is more than wrinkles and gray hair—it’s a gradual decline in cellular function. Over time, DNA damage, telomere shortening, and mitochondrial inefficiency contribute to weaker bones, slower memory, and reduced vitality. While aging is inevitable, regular exercise, quality sleep, and stress management maintain health and extend one’s years.

Five to ten percent of Alzheimer's cases are early-onset

Early-onset Alzheimer’s typically emerges around 40 to 50 years of age, with devastating effects. This video follows Brian, diagnosed with the disease at age 54, as he travels the country as an advocate for research and discusses the progressive mental fog of Alzheimer’s.

Various pollutants may be contributing to a male infertility crisis

Male infertility, due to declining sperm counts or quality, accounts for about half of the cases of infertility among couples. Recent research has found that global sperm counts fell, on average, by 1.2% per year between 1973 and 2018—from 104 million to 49 million per milliliter. From 2000, this rate of decline accelerated to more than 2.6% per year. (Some users may encounter a paywall.)

Biological aging tests assess the breakdown of physiological systems

Known as aging clocks, these tests compare various metrics, like DNA methylation patterns and protein profiles, to healthy baselines. However, the non-uniformity of these baselines across individuals limits testing accuracy and prevents their clinical use.

Menopause is a hormonal transition point, like puberty

Yet menopause isn't talked about as much. In this podcast episode by Houston Methodist, a Texas-based hospital, the host speaks with a gynecologist with a specialization in menopausal medicine about what menopause really is, and how women and the people in their lives can navigate this next life stage.

Retired professional soccer players are showing signs of potential neurological impacts in midlife, according to a study presented at the July 2026 Alzheimer's Association International Conference in London.

Women tend to tip more often than men

For instance, among people who visit hair salons or barber shops, 62% of female respondents said they always tipped. Only 45% of men said the same. This article includes more takeaways and stats about how Americans tip, and who receives them.

External factors, not aging itself, lead to sleep loss in older adults

Though it is often believed that people need less sleep as they age, the recommended sleep guidelines for all adult age groups are almost identical. However, factors such as medication use, lack of physical activity, and loneliness can lead to sleep problems, and thereby lead older people to believe that they actually need less sleep than they do.

'Menobelly' is real, with more fat stored around the abdomen as estrogen levels drop.

Menopause and perimenopause symptoms may affect both the mind and the body

Women going through these aging transitions may experience some common physical and mental symptoms to varying degrees, including hot flashes, bladder control issues, brain fog, and vaginal dryness. This article dives into some of the most common symptoms women might expect during perimenopause, plus what they can do to relieve them.

27% of US menopausal women used estrogen in 1999, but by 2020 that number was under 5%

The fallout of studies in the early 2000s linking hormone therapy for menopause and elevated cancer, stroke, and other health risks meant that even decades later—yet before the FDA removed its black box warning in 2025—use of HRT remained extremely uncommon. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

The number and quality of sperm in men's semen is down, giving rise to various movements to avoid 'spermpocalypse'

A typical fertile, healthy young man produces over 100 million spermatozoa, or sperm cells, in his testicles every day. Scientists agree sperm figures are generally moving in the wrong direction, but also emphasize there's still a lot to learn about sperm.

Treatment-induced menopause is menopause induced by surgery or medicine

Chemotherapy and radiation, as well as oophorectomy (a surgical procedure to remove one or both ovaries) and a radical hysterectomy, can cause a woman to become menopausal. Women who go through medical menopause experience the same symptoms as women who go through menopause caused by natural hormonal cycles.

Men are flocking to hundreds of new online testosterone clinics for low T prescriptions.

It's never too late to start hormone replacement therapy for menopause symptoms because the products may help alleviate symptoms of menopause or fight bone loss.