Why dangerous fungi are on the rise

Plus: A day to remember the pets we’ve lost  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Mandy Oaklander | October 27, 2026     If you’re in the mood for a scary read, may I suggest my colleague Dominique Mosbergen's new feature about how dangerous fungi are on the rise? Dominique talked to experts who are alarmed at how quickly fungi are gaining ground in the U.S. and around the world. Human activity and climate change are spurring them on, she found out. Dominique takes you behind the scenes of her new story, below. TODAY’S TOPICS Bracing for bad news The $400 million warning Life beyond the scroll Honoring departed pets When fungi fight back Meet the moss brick         PLEASE ADVISE Here’s a great question we received from a reader: When I’m happy, I have this feeling that something bad must happen. How do you explain that psychologically? alvarez—Getty Images Being on guard can feel more familiar than being happy, especially if you’ve experienced a lot of stress or unpredictability, says Rachel Dash-Dougherty, a licensed clinical social worker in East Lyme, Conn. Anxiety can send you looking for the catch—even when there’s no evidence of one. Bracing for disappointment might feel protective, but it can eat up the very thing you’re afraid of losing: time enjoying your life. When dread interrupts a good moment, ask yourself whether there’s anything useful you need to do right now. Making a backup plan for a flight is preparation; mentally rehearsing every possible vacation disaster is worry working overtime. If there’s no action to take, let the thought pass without trying to solve it. Dash-Dougherty suggests reminding yourself: “I don’t need to solve a future problem to enjoy what’s happening right now.” Then tune back into the conversation or laughter around you. If worry regularly interferes with your sleep, relationships, or ability to have fun, consider talking to a therapist. “The goal isn’t to never worry,” Dash-Dougherty says. “It’s to enjoy your life even when your brain has other ideas.” –Angela Haupt Got a dilemma of your own? Send it our way to healthmatters@time.com, and we might tackle it in a future edition.         SPONSORED BY ATLASSIAN State of Product reveals what AI still hasn’t solved 80% of product professionals say AI helps them ship faster, but customers aren’t seeing value any sooner. Atlassian’s State of Product 2027 explores the gains AI is delivering and the challenges that remain, from decision-making that hasn’t kept pace to gut instinct overriding customer evidence. Read the report         BIG NUMBER $400 million The amount of money that HCA Healthcare, one of the nation’s largest for-profit health care operators, lost in the most recent quarter—in part because it saw more uninsured patients coming into its hospitals. The company reported earnings on Oct. 27 and said profits were slightly lower because of a rise in the uninsured. —Alana Semuels         SPONSORED BY WISPR FLOW Stop typing what you could say in 10 seconds. Wispr Flow turns your voice into clean, professional text inside any app. Emails, Slack, client updates: speak once, send without editing. 4x faster than typing. Works on Mac, Windows, iPhone, and Android. Try Wispr Flow free         THE QUOTE THAT STUCK ❝   We live in a skim, scan, scroll world.   Cheryl Fisher Therapist Cheryl Fisher told me this while we were talking about color walks, which involve picking a color and looking for it along your route. It made me think about how often I take a break from my computer only to spend my time “offline” looking at my phone. —A.H.         TODAY I LEARNED It’s a day to remember departed pets Mumford and Peppers. Today, Oct. 27, is an increasingly popular day to remember pets who have died as part of Día de los Muertos celebrations. Some families create colorful altars with their animals' photos, favorite toys, and treats—a way of honoring relationships that don't end when a pet's life does. I love the idea of setting aside a day for a kind of grief that isn't always taken seriously. Over the past few years, I've lost several beloved animals, including two cats whose deaths shattered me. I keep them close in little ways: My home is filled with reminders of Peppers, a once-feral cat who became my soulmate, and Mumford, a sickly, abandoned orange cat who found his way to my doorstep. I gravitate toward anything with peppers or oranges on it, like keeping a chili pepper ornament on my desk. Maybe that's part of what makes rituals like today's so meaningful: They give us a way to keep expressing love, even when the ones we miss aren't here to receive it. —A.H.         SPONSORED TIME100 Most Influential Companies is expanding TIME100 Most Influential Companies 2027 entries are now open. With new Exceptional Workplaces categories, the TIME100 Companies publication is expanding to recognize businesses pioneering new approaches to how people work, from flexible and hybrid work to technology integration and career development.  Because it’s no longer just what you do, but how you do it.  Submit your company.         A GOOD READ Dangerous fungi are on the rise Fungi are ubiquitous. They live in the soil we walk on and in the air we breathe, and are all over our bodies, too. There are an estimated 6 million species of fungi on the planet, but remarkably, only a fraction—about 300 of them—cause diseases in people.  The human body is too hot for most fungi to thrive, and our immune systems are usually robust enough to keep them at bay. “We are protected by our temperature and our immunity,” Dr. Arturo Casadevall, chair of microbiology and immunology at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, told me. We are, however, creating conditions that are making it easier for fungi to attack us, I write about in my new feature for TIME. Rising global temperatures and an increasing population of immunocompromised people are spurring an increase in serious, often life-threatening fungal infections. – D.M.  Read the full story here.         WHAT WE’RE READING Forget houseplants. Young adults in China are raising “moss bricks” to relieve stress. Amy Hawkins at the Guardian investigates the wonderfully bizarre trend.  Daylight Saving Time ends this week. Here's how to best prepare yourself for the time change, Chantelle Lee reports for TIME. B.R.A.I.N. is an acronym that birth doulas and other professionals use to help make medical decisions on tight timelines, Blake Farmer, Cara Anthony, and Emily Siner report for Nashville Public Radio and KFF Health News.       More Newsletters from Click to sign up. THE BRIEF +FUTURE PROOF +INSIDE TIME +IN THE LOOP +WORTH YOUR TIME + Subscribe to TIME Email us: healthmatters@time.com Received this from a friend? Sign up here 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

A new way to think about women’s heart health

Plus: Why revenge backfires  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Mandy Oaklander | October 26, 2026     Cardiovascular disease is the No. 1 killer of women, and a wide array of factors go into determining a woman’s heart health. Medical care doesn't always connect these factors, however. Today, the American Heart Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine issued a new framework for cardiovascular health in girls and women. “This framework gives clinicians a shared approach to cardiovascular disease prevention across specialties, interconnected areas of health, and life stages,” writes Dr. Sadiya S. Khan, a preventive cardiologist and one of the authors of the new approach, in her new piece for TIME. Peek behind the scenes of the new guidelines, below. TODAY’S TOPICS Why revenge backfires An early viral surge A lifetime of heart health A final gift to science         QUICK CHAT The revenge trap Someone cuts you off in traffic. You lay on the horn, make a certain hand gesture, or fantasize about returning the favor. That'll show them! Except, as I recently learned from psychologist Ryan Martin, an expert on anger, getting even might leave you feeling worse than doing nothing at all. —Angela Haupt This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity. Catherine McQueen—Getty Images This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity. Why does getting revenge feel so appealing in the moment? We find revenge very pleasant in theory. We want to get it, and we're driven toward it, even neurologically. When someone does something that makes us angry, we want to get back at them. But research suggests that when we actually get revenge, we often make ourselves less happy in the long run. Why would getting even make us feel worse? Imagine you're driving and someone cuts you off. You could do nothing and go on with your life, or you could get revenge—honk at them, ride up on their bumper, or cut them off. If you do nothing, chances are that in a week, you've forgotten all about it. But if you retaliate, you've turned it into something much bigger. How does retaliating make it a bigger deal? There's no way for your future self to claim it was a minor transgression anymore. You've done something that potentially put your life in jeopardy to get revenge. Now you've made a minor incident into a major event that you're going to remember for a long time. So what should we do when we're tempted to get even? Think about your goal. When I'm driving, my goal is to get to my destination safely. Laying on the horn because I'm angry, cutting someone off, or giving them the finger doesn't help me accomplish that. Sometimes we have to fight the urge for revenge and focus on what's actually best for us.         SPONSORED BY THE DEEP VIEW Stop Drowning In AI Information Overload Your inbox is flooded with newsletters. Your feed is chaos. Somewhere in that noise are the insights that could transform your work—but who has time to find them? The Deep View solves this. We read everything, analyze what matters, and deliver only the intelligence you need. No duplicate stories, no filler content, no wasted time. Just the essential AI developments that impact your industry, explained clearly and concisely. Replace hours of scattered reading with five focused minutes. While others scramble to keep up, you'll stay ahead of developments that matter. 600,000+ professionals at top companies have already made this switch. Join them today, for free.         WHAT’S GOING AROUND? Flu is stirring SimpleImages—Getty Images Respiratory virus season is, alas, upon us. Flu appears to be here early this year, with the number of flu infections already “growing” in most U.S. states, according to recent U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data. The annual flu vaccine is recommended for everyone 6 months and older. The RSV vaccine is recommended for older adults, as well as some pregnant women and some infants. —Dominique Mosbergen         SPONSORED BY WISPR FLOW Stop typing what you could say in 10 seconds. Wispr Flow turns your voice into clean, professional text inside any app. Emails, Slack, client updates: speak once, send without editing. 4x faster than typing. Works on Mac, Windows, iPhone, and Android. Try Wispr Flow free         TODAY I LEARNED Connecting the heart-health dots S3 and S4 - Perimenopause and Postmenopause With the publication of its new women's health framework, the American Heart Association also released a series of videos. "Our hope was that we could tell the story of dense science papers with voices of some awesome girls and women," Dr. Sadiya S. Khan tells us. —M.O. Read the full story here.         SPONSORED TIME100 Most Influential Companies is expanding TIME100 Most Influential Companies 2027 entries are now open. With new Exceptional Workplaces categories, the TIME100 Companies publication is expanding to recognize businesses pioneering new approaches to how people work, from flexible and hybrid work to technology integration and career development.  Because it’s no longer just what you do, but how you do it.  Submit your company.         WHAT WE’RE READING What really happens when you donate your body to science? Meaghan O'Connell at the Guardian recounts the strange, funny, and deeply moving experience of honoring her mother's final wish. A stroke left one man with a $93,000 hospital bill. KFF Health News investigates how medical costs are upending Americans' lives. Could smiling actually make you happier? AP explores the surprising psychology of facial expressions—and why forcing a grin can backfire.       More Newsletters from Click to sign up. THE BRIEF +FUTURE PROOF +INSIDE TIME +IN THE LOOP +WORTH YOUR TIME + Subscribe to TIME Email us: healthmatters@time.com Received this from a friend? Sign up here 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