Barbara Feder Ostrov, Senior Correspondent for California Healthline, has reported on medicine and health policy for more than 15 years. She covered the medical beat for the San Jose Mercury News for eight years and edited the website of the Center for Health Journalism at the USC Annenberg School of Journalism. She previously worked at The Palm Beach Post and the Miami Herald. Her work also has been published in The Boston Globe, Ms. Magazine, Atlantic.com, PBS NewsHour, NPR, CNN.com and EverydayHealth.com. She has won awards from the Society for Women’s Health Research, the California Newspaper Publishers Association and the Florida Press Club. She is based in San Jose, California.
Barbara Feder Ostrov
Kaiser Health News
From this contributor
How the college admissions cheating scandal hurts students with disabilities
In the wake of this week's college admissions cheating scandal, families and advocates are worried about a backlash that could make it harder for students with legitimate disabilities to get the accommodations the need.
How the college admissions cheating scandal hurts students with disabilities
Study of birth defects, folic acid in foods finds more questions than answers
Fortifying cereal and bread products with folic acid has not led to as dramatic a decline in congenital defects as expected.
Study of birth defects, folic acid in foods finds more questions than answers
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To persist, memories surf molecular waves from thalamus to cortex
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Sex hormone boosts female rats’ sensitivity to unexpected rewards
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Sex hormone boosts female rats’ sensitivity to unexpected rewards
During the high-estradiol stages of their estrus cycle, female rats learn faster than they do during other stages—and than male rats overall—thanks to a boost in their dopaminergic response to reward, a new study suggests.