Mandy Oaklander | September 28, 2026

Two new blood tests for Alzheimer's disease were cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last month. But they're not meant for everyone.

In her new piece for TIME, my colleague Alice Park interviewed leaders in the Alzheimer's field about what the new blood tests can do—and what they can't.

TODAY’S TOPICS

Find meaning in your own backyard
The sweet spot for outdoor time
Got a question for us?
Money and friendship

QUICK CHAT

Garden when the world feels out of control

I recently spent a few days interviewing people who are very excited about bugs. I was reporting a story about making your yard friendlier to pollinators, which led me to Mary Phillips of the National Wildlife Federation. Phillips is a big believer in wildlife gardening: using the plants and spaces around your home to provide food, shelter, and habitat for birds, pollinators, and other creatures.

The practice can even benefit you: When the world feels wildly beyond your control, tending one little patch of it can feel surprisingly meaningful. —Angela Haupt, Editor, Health & Wellness

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Albert Fertl—Getty Images

Why can gardening for wildlife feel especially good when everything else feels out of control?

You can go outside and know you're making a difference right where you live, even when everything else in the world feels uncertain. You're investing in something, and then you actually get to see the results.

And those results can happen pretty quickly?

Yes. Within a season, you can see wildlife coming in. You're seeing butterflies. You're seeing birds and hearing more birdsong. That makes wildlife gardening a little different from regular gardening: You get to watch other living things respond to what you've done.

Did you notice people gravitating toward this during the pandemic?

Yes, and we're continuing to see a lot of interest. I think part of it is having something you can actually control and then seeing a positive result. That's what happened during the pandemic, when people felt so out of control.

What if someone doesn't want to turn their entire yard into a wildlife sanctuary?

You don't have to. You can start by looking at what you already have and making one part of it more useful to wildlife. Even thinking through whether your yard provides food, water, cover, and places for wildlife to raise their young is a start.

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TODAY I LEARNED

More time outside is better—up to a point

5./15 WEST—Getty Images

The mental-health benefits of spending time outdoors increase swiftly as people spend more time in green spaces before plateauing, researchers found recently.

Spending just one hour per week in a green space had modestly beneficial effects, while spending eight hours a week produced only moderately more benefits than spending four hours a week. —Veronique Greenwood, Staff Writer

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Ask the health team

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

Being a good friend means being conscious of what your choices cost other people, writes Meehika Barua for TIME.
Frustration with high drug prices has united Republicans and Democrats against a common enemy: pharmacy benefit managers, Blake Farmer reports for Nashville Public Radio.
A migraine patient left the ER untreated after a four-hour wait—and still got a $410 bill. Michelle Andrews at KFF Health News explains why.