Two people have died of measles in Pennsylvania

Plus: Dolly Parton's death, whether hand dryers are sanitary, and more health news  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Mandy Oaklander | August 25, 2026     The first measles deaths of the year have occurred in the U.S. Two unvaccinated people in Pennsylvania died of measles, my colleague Dominique Mosbergen reports. These are the first measles-associated deaths in Pennsylvania in 35 years. Measles cases have been rising at an alarming rate in recent years, and health experts are especially troubled by the recent anti-vaccine rhetoric coming from the White House. Recently, President Donald Trump said of the MMR vaccine—which protects against measles, mumps, and rubella—that “together, there could be a possibility they’re quite lethal,” despite the shot's "strong safety and efficacy record," Dominique writes. Most people who get measles survive. But some complications from the disease can last a lifetime. TODAY’S TOPICS A jump in autism diagnoses Are hand dryers sanitary? The passing of a country-music legend         BIG NUMBER 800% That’s approximately how much the registered prevalence of autism increased in Sweden from 2001 to 2020, a new study finds. Meanwhile, the share of people diagnosed with autism who also had an intellectual disability fell from 55.8% to 6.7%—a shift researchers say likely reflects a broadening of autism’s diagnostic criteria. —Veronique Greenwood, Staff Writer SOURCE: PSYCHIATRY RESEARCH         SPONSORED Skincare built by longevity scientists Most skincare treats the symptoms of aging. OS-01 FACE was built by longevity scientists to address the cause. With age, some skin cells stop functioning – accelerating the visible skin decline that most skincare was never designed to address. OneSkin is different. It's skincare with better science and real results. Save 15% on OS-01 FACE *Explore the claims at oneskin.co         PLEASE ADVISE Here’s a great question we received from a reader: Are public-restroom hand dryers blowing germs onto my clean hands? Are paper towels a safer, more sanitary choice? Oleksii Grygorenko—Getty Images Nothing makes me question the phrase “clean hands” quite like blasting them with mystery bathroom air. Still, for most healthy people, public-restroom hand dryers belong near the bottom of the list of things to worry about, says Catherine Troisi, an infectious disease epidemiologist at UTHealth Houston and co-editor of the Control of Communicable Diseases Manual. Research on hand dryers has produced conflicting results. Some studies have found higher bacterial counts on people’s hands after they washed and used a warm-air dryer than before they washed them; the same study found that counts decreased after washing and drying with paper towels. Others have found no significant difference among drying methods. Studies have also used very different experimental setups, some of which don’t reflect an ordinary restroom. Even when a study finds germs, that doesn’t mean those germs are likely to make us sick. “We live bathed in bacteria and viruses,” Troisi says. “Most of them don’t cause any disease.” If public-restroom hand dryers were routinely making people ill, she points out, epidemiologists would expect to see evidence of that happening. The more practical concern may be walking away with damp hands after losing patience with a slow dryer. “One of the big issues is that your hands may not get dry,” Troisi says. “I know I’m impatient if I use one, and I just walk away.” Bacteria, she adds, “can grow better in that moist environment on your hands.” Paper towels generally make it easier to dry your hands completely. You can also use one to open the restroom door—which is particularly useful if the last person wasn’t as diligent about washing as you were. Troisi’s advice: Wash thoroughly with soap and water, and then dry your hands completely. If only a dryer is available, use it long enough to finish the job. Paper towels may be preferable in hospitals and clinics, where more vulnerable people are present. For the average healthy restroom user, however, this isn’t worth losing sleep over. “This is not what is keeping me—or, I would dare say, any epidemiologist—up at night,” Troisi says. –Angela Haupt, Editor, Health & Wellness Got a social dilemma of your own? Send it our way to healthmatters@time.com, and we might tackle it in a future edition.         SPONSORED         WHAT WE’RE READING Country music superstar Dolly Parton has died at age 80, reports Chantelle Lee for TIME. How do you identify the remains of a person who died in the 9/11 attacks, 25 years later? Aaron Katersky at Good Morning America reports on the breakthrough use of genetic genealogy that has finally identified a victim. Alpha-gal syndrome—the red-meat allergy triggered by tick bites—may complicate certain blood transfusions, a large new study suggests.         SPONSORED Pique’s new X·E Fountain energy drink delivers clean, caffeine-free energy without the jitters, crash, or dehydration. Vitamin B Complex, magnesium, and electrolytes help support steady focus, while crisp cucumber-celery-lime makes every sip ridiculously refreshing. Get 15% off for life.     EMAIL US: healthmatters@time.com More Newsletters from Click to sign up. THE BRIEF +D.C. BRIEF +FUTURE PROOF +INSIDE TIME +IN THE LOOP +WORTH YOUR TIME + Connect with TIME PRIVACY POLICY   © 2026 TIME USA, LLC. All rights reserved. TIME Customer Service, P.O. Box 37508 Boone, IA 50037-0508, United States Unsubscribe

What a leading lettuce breeder wants you to know

Plus: don't waste your life worrying, the rise of marijuana, and more health news  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Mandy Oaklander | August 24, 2026     Lettuce has been in the headlines all summer for all the wrong reasons. How has the Cyclospora outbreak affected people whose careers depend on the rest of us eating lettuce? "It's disastrous," one plant breeder, Bill Waycott, told my colleague Veronique Greenwood in a recent Q&A. Waycott, who lives in California, is currently growing the "lettuce of the future," which will have more nutrition than iceberg. Their conversation was fascinating—and a bit alarming. "I have to say, I am just flabbergasted by the number of diseases that have come in in the last five to 10 years,” Waycott said, “and the rapidity with which they're mutating and forming new races.” TODAY’S TOPICS Worry less, live more A vice on the rise Got a health question for us? When will the woolly mammoth walk again?         QUICK CHAT Worrying is a waste of time While reporting a recent story about what we can learn from older women, I called Karl Pillemer, a gerontologist at Cornell University who’s spent years asking more than 1,000 older people to share what they’ve learned about living well. One regret came up repeatedly: They wished they’d worried less. As a world-class worrier myself, I needed to learn more. —Angela Haupt, Editor, Health & Wellness This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity. Carol Yepes/Getty Images You’ve asked more than 1,000 older people what they regret. What surprised you most about their answers? I expected big-ticket items—shady business deals, major mistakes. I was not prepared for how many people said, “I wish I hadn’t spent so much time worrying about things I couldn’t control.” Over and over, they told me that worry really wastes your life. Was there one story about worrying that really stuck with you? One woman told me there were going to be layoffs at her company, and she spent three months doing nothing but worrying that she would be laid off. She paused and said, “I now wish I had those three months back.” That’s the kind of thing you hear again and again. But some worrying feels useful. Where’s the line between worrying and preparing? Planning is fine. Older people are planners. But so many told me, “Many of the things I worried about never happened, and some of the bad things that did happen, I never saw coming.” Any time spent just mindlessly worrying is time you may regret later. Are you good at following that advice yourself? I’m a compulsive worrier! I could have a day planner that says: “Worry about daughter. Worry about grandchild. Worry about global warming. Worry about Iraq. Worry about Iran.” So I have to imagine this room of 1,000 grandparents yelling at me: “You’re just wasting your time worrying about it!” These are people who grew up in the shadow of the Great Depression, World War II, the Holocaust. If they’re going to tell you that, you should listen.         SPONSORED Skincare built by longevity scientists Most skincare treats the symptoms of aging. OS-01 FACE was built by longevity scientists to address the cause. With age, some skin cells stop functioning – accelerating the visible skin decline that most skincare was never designed to address. OneSkin is different. It's skincare with better science and real results. Save 15% on OS-01 FACE *Explore the claims at oneskin.co         TODAY I LEARNED The latest vice of choice Gina Pricope—Getty Images I wrote last week about how Americans are drinking less alcohol than ever before. It turns out Americans’ smoking habits are changing significantly, too. According to a new Gallup poll, U.S. adults are smoking more marijuana and fewer cigarettes than ever before. In the survey, 17% of people said they smoke marijuana—tying Gallup’s record high—while 11% said they smoke cigarettes, a record low. Traci Toomey, a public-health policy expert at the University of Minnesota who studies alcohol and cannabis, told me recently that it’s not clear whether people are substituting marijuana for alcohol. “We have to acknowledge that as alcohol rates have gone down, cannabis use has increased,” she said. “We don’t know if it’s a substitution, but that’s a question we need to answer.” —Dominique Mosbergen, Health Correspondent         SPONSORED I Threw Out My Grocery Store K-Cups After One Sip One cup from Angelino's, a family-owned L.A. roastery, and I never went back. 50+ fresh-roasted pods compatible with all Keurig® brewers, shipped within days of roasting — from 39¢ a cup. New customers get 15% off their first order, applied automatically. Try 39¢ Pods         PLEASE ADVISE 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.         SPONSORED 1,000,000 Men Use This. You Probably Know One. Most men don't think about their skin until eye bags, dark spots, and wrinkles show up at once. Particle Face Cream is a groundbreaking men's formula that fights all three, while also restoring firmness and hydrating deeply. No complicated routine. Trusted by over a million men. 30-day money-back guarantee. 20% off with code BH20. Get 20% Off Today         WHAT WE’RE READING Colossal Biosciences’ plans to de-extinct the woolly mammoth are proceeding more slowly than anticipated, but the reasons why are fascinating, Jeffrey Kluger writes for TIME. What does postpartum psychosis actually look like, and can you recover from it? Laura Ungar at the Associated Press shares one mother’s frightening but hopeful experience.  Can getting up off the floor really tell you how long you’ll live? Devi Shastri at the AP explains what viral mobility tests can—and can’t—tell you about healthy aging.     EMAIL US: healthmatters@time.com More Newsletters from Click to sign up. THE BRIEF +D.C. BRIEF +FUTURE PROOF +INSIDE TIME +IN THE LOOP +WORTH YOUR TIME + Connect with TIME PRIVACY POLICY   © 2026 TIME USA, LLC. All rights reserved. TIME Customer Service, P.O. Box 37508 Boone, IA 50037-0508, United States Unsubscribe