Mandy Oaklander | August 28, 2026

It’s always nice to end the week with a spate of good news. Today, there's an exciting development for people eager for an alternative to statins (though more research needs to be done first). An experimental, one-time gene-editing therapy slashed cholesterol and triglycerides in people with high levels—and, better yet, the lower levels persisted when researchers checked a year later, according to a new paper out today. My colleague Alice Park wrote about the very out-of-the-box approach to the chronic health problem.

That’s not the only heartening development of the day. Mounjaro, the weight-loss drug from Eli Lilly, is now approved to lower the risk of heart events, including heart attack, in people with diabetes, Alice reports.

TODAY’S TOPICS

Hang in there!
AI can help guide brain surgery
Got a question for us?
The heart benefits of good genes

ONE SMALL CHANGE

Hang from a bar for 30 seconds

Your childhood monkey-bar habit might be worth bringing back. Hanging right-side up from a secure overhead bar can stretch the muscles that tighten up while you’re hunched over a desk or phone—and give your grip a workout.

The bar is low, literally: Beginners can keep their feet planted and start with a handful of 10-second hangs before working up to 30 seconds. —Angela Haupt, Editor, Health & Wellness

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TODAY I LEARNED

AI in the OR

Getty Images

AI has been assisting surgeons for a while now. But in a fascinating first, it was used in real time during a brain operation in the U.K., reports the BBC. The AI helped human surgeons remove a patient’s tumor that could have blinded him. It performed on-the-spot analyses in the operating room that helped surgeons navigate the complex space in the brain where the tumor sat, allowing them to remove more of the tumor and avoid disturbing critical structures.

The AI tool was trained “on more operations than most surgeons see or do in a lifetime and can act like an expert second pair of eyes,” Dr. Hani Marcus, who performed the procedure at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery at University College London Hospitals, told the BBC. —Alice Park, Senior Correspondent

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PLEASE ADVISE

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Have a burning health or wellness question? Wondering how to handle a tricky social situation? Please write to healthmatters@time.com, and we’ll weigh in weekly in the newsletter.

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WHAT WE’RE READING

Lydia McFarlane of WVIA visits a summer camp where kids with brain injuries zip-line, swim, and spend a week with other people who get it.
Children of centenarians lived longer and had lower risks of cardiovascular disease and hypertension compared to people whose parents had shorter lifespans, according to a new study in JAMA Network Open.
Historically, cold temperatures have been linked to more deaths than hot ones. But new data from the U.K.’s Office of National Statistics reveal that the gap is closing, Damian Carrington reports for the Guardian.