Alien life ‘studied more than female biology’, researcher claims

University of Leiden neuroscientists say women are overlooked as research participants

At a meeting held at the University of Leiden to mark this month’s International Women’s Day, clinical psychologist Ellen de Bruijn complained that women have been systematically ignored as participants in medical studies for decades. “More research has been done on male pattern baldness, erection problems and extra-terrestrial life than on the functioning of the female body,” she said.

“Of 50,000 recent scientific studies, only half a per cent was specifically aimed at women,” she said. “I find that shocking.” Historically, clinical trials and medical studies have excluded female participants because of concerns related to pregnancy. Instead, research data collected from males has been generally assumed to apply to females.