1 . In early July, FDA granted traditional full approval of Leqembi for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). This is the first approved medication proven to slow the progression of AD’s clinical symptoms. A phase three trial among 50-to-90-year-old patients with early AD showed that it can do so by about 27% over an 18-month period. While we cannot extrapolate (推断) beyond 18 months, this represents about a six-month delay in progression of AD symptoms.

A second disease-slowing drug, donanemab, has recently shown similar effects and may get FDA approval by the end of the year.The development of Leqembi is a notable success for medical science in that a disease previously impervious to any disease-modifying medical intervention now has an available, effective treatment. However, paraphrasing Winston Churchill, this is not the beginning of the end but the end of the beginning. The drug does not reverse disease symptoms or prevent progression, it slows progression. And there are considerations that make it inappropriate for many patients with AD. It does, however, lay the groundwork for future AD medications that could alleviate (减轻) suffering from this devastating disease for generations to come.

An important factor for new drugs is their cost. Leqembi’s price tag is $26,500 per year — much more than the current symptomatic medications for AD but comparable or less expensive than new medications for other conditions, for example multiple sclerosis or ALS.

Medicare has announced that it will provide coverage for this medication, although it is requiring that physicians perform certain clinical measures and enter the patient’s data in a registry in order for the drug to be covered, which will increase physician and patient burdens. What’s more, traditional Medicare only covers 80% of outpatient costs, so for those patients without supplemental insurance, a 20% copay for the drug and required MRI scans (核磁共振扫描) might amount to up to $10,000 or more per year out of pocket, but still only a fraction of the cost of a year of in a nursing home.

2 . Alexis was a student, the only son of his wealthy parents, and felt entitled to the luxuries he had in his life. On a class field trip, Alexis met the forester, Justin, who had been living in a wooden house in the forest over ten years. When learning Justin’s life, Alexis laughed at him with his friends.

During the field trip, Alexis and his classmates passed by an entrance to a cave. “This looks so cool!” Alexis exclaimed. He wanted to go inside the cave, but his teacher stopped him.

The next day, Alexis reached the cave with his four friends, only to find they couldn’t take their schoolbags through the entrance. One by one, the teenagers entered the cave and were amazed to see how wide it was from the inside. Albert picked a large stone up and hit one of the walls with it. “This place is so cool!” he laughed quietly before the rocks from the wall came falling.

“Watch out, Albert!” Alexis said and pulled Albert towards himself. The teenagers screamed in fear when they saw the rocks fall. They couldn’t see anything because of the dust floating in the air.

The friends were scared when they realized they were trapped in the cave. “HELP! WE ARE STUCK!” the teenagers started screaming for help, hoping someone would hear them.

Fate sent Justin to the cave. The forester picked berries every day from the trees near the cave. While he was walking back to his house, five bright-colored schoolbags caught his attention. Then he approached the cave and shouted, “Hey! Who’s in there?”

“I’m Alexis ! I came here yesterday with my teacher! Help us, please! We are stuck!”

“Okay, calm down, children! I’ll help you out!” Justin said.

Justin quickly called 911 and informed them about the kids in the cave. Thinking the paramedics (护理人员) would take at least twenty minutes to arrive, he decided to help the kids himself before it was too late. Justin quickly grabbed a shovel and a flashlight and rushed back to the cave’s entrance. Meanwhile, Alexis and his friends tried to stay calm. A few minutes later, Alexis and his friends could see the flashlight shine through the cave’s entrance. Seconds later, they rushed outside the cave and took a deep breath in the fresh air.

Just then, the paramedics arrived.

5 . Must-read New Fiction Books

We all have a few tried-and-true fiction favorites, but there’s something special about a brand-new, hot-off-the-press novel. Whether it’s your favorite author’s new release or a new writer’s first work, great fiction books make the perfect escape from ordinary life. That’s why we’ve rounded up a list of the best new books released in February.

Age of Gold by Jerry Lapoor

Jerry Lapoor’s latest action-packed novel unfolds like a crazy movie. This thriller begins when a wealthy man’s car gets out of control. But when the dust settles, the rich man is nowhere to be found. How and to where does he disappear? With an exciting plot that will carry you from old-money houses to small agricultural villages, Age of Cold will take you on an unforgettable ride across a vast land.

City Under One Sky by Rachel Young

In the book, Young presents a crime story set in a small town. Detective Sara Kennedy has been sent to investigate a case. But soon after arrival, Sara gets snowed in with the 205 townsfolk living in the same apartment building. Who is hiding the key to the crime? And is there anyone she can truly trust? The appealing story, strange but distinctive characters and unexpected plot are just a few of the reasons why City Under One Sky gains its popularity.

Lady by Jess George

Lady is an irresistible fiction from Jess George. The story of Mary’s fresh start at adulthood is shot through with themes of family, race and discrimination, womanhood and the immigrant reality of feeling torn between cultures. Though struggling with life in London as an African, Mary jumps at every chance to stand on her own feet.

7 . When I was 12 years old, I spent most of my free time reading. But sadly, not everyone around me enjoyed reading as much as I did, and not being able to talk about my favorite hobby with my friends made my reading a lonely experience.

In my senior year of high school, I came across a channel, “Clau Reads Books” run by Claudia Ramirez Lomeli, who makes book-related content in Spanish, and was introduced to the book world of social media. I could finally hear someone else’s reaction to the stories I like. I love her videos because we prefer the same kind of books. Eventually, I followed her on another social networking site, and I learned about the community on it where users blog about their favorite books. I really wanted to be part of this space and seeing others being so interactive and supportive made it seem like an acceptable community. However, I doubted my ability to express my thoughts well because I was unfamiliar with creating content to engage other readers.

Therefore, I started reading blogs on how to start a new account for guidance and after weeks of researching, I learned about the necessary social media skills. I had to spend time designing small sets and finding natural lighting and household items for photo shoots, and learn how to write engaging reviews while using hashtags (主题标签) in posts to attract other users.

My first post was a photo of my favorite book, Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick, with my hand’s shadow cast on a page. I also took pictures of several of my favorite sentences from the book and included a few hashtags to increase interaction. Attracting people with similar interest was hard at first. But gradually, it became kid’s stuff. The community quickly became a good place for me to talk about my favorite books with people having the same interest.

8 . For those in search of safe, non-medicine sleep aids (助手), sound machines are a popular choice. The National Sleep Foundation recently found that 5% of Americans sleep with a “sound conditioner”. It can be a fan, phone app, or other noise-producing machines.

Michael Grandner, director of the Sleep and Health Research Program at the University of Arizona, says a sound conditioner is a lifesaver if you live where loud nighttime noise is common. But even if your bedroom is very quiet, sound machines can still be helpful if you’re the type of person unsettled by a total absence of noise, or if you’re a light sleeper who wakes from even the softest sound.

Research supports the idea that a little background sound can help people fall asleep. For a study in the journal Sleep Medicine, the researchers asked sleepers to listen to recorded hospital sounds either with or without a white noise machine. They found that those who slept with the white noise machine were hardly affected by the hospital sounds, while others who slept without white noise were easily awakened.

There’s also so-called “pink noise” and “brown noise”, which can sound similar to white noise. “I don’t think there’s enough evidence yet to say one type is better than another,” says Michelle Drerup, a sleep psychologist at the Cleveland Clinic. “I know from talking with my patients that some people prefer natural sounds, like a rainstorm. But others don’t want a sound at all when they sleep,” she says. “It all comes down to the individual (个人).”

For some, the best sound might be none. “Biologically (生物学上), you don’t need this sound to sleep,” says Michael Grandner, “and if you use it every night, you can get so used to it that you can’t sleep without it.” Most sleep experts agree. “I wouldn’t suggest people use sound machines to sleep unless they’re reporting difficulties with outside noises,” an expert says.

9 . For the past 10 years I have been cycling on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Every summer vacation, I spend a month biking across the plateau.

In 2014, I set out on a cycle route with five other people in the far west of the Tibet autonomous region. Our 2,000-kilometer route started in Lhasa in the east, passed through the northern part of the prefecture (辖区) and ended in the west.

Titled the “top of the Roof of the World”, the plateau, which has a small population, has incredible scenery. Travelers can see the snowy mountains, clean blue lakes, lots of animals during the day, and clear, starry skies at night.

The route consists of dirt, even broken stones and paths, which have been formed over time by passing vehicles. Animal attacks are a potential risk in the wild. One night, we had to camp near a forest where there were potential animal attacks, especially from wolves. We found a house in a locked yard, but no one answered our calls from the gate. It was the time of the seasonal migration, so maybe the people had moved to another place for better water and grass. Then we had to camp outside. One of us was very experienced and careful. He placed some hay bales (干草捆) alongside the wall and said that if something dangerous happened, we could use them to jump into the yard and shelter (躲避) in the house.

Luckily, we didn’t meet any wolves or other animals, though we could hear them calling. Animal attacks remain a major cause of injuries on that route. Before the trip, we read online that a traveler had been bitten by wolves. The temporary “step” our companion built made us feel safer.

10 . Avett Ray is a little boy with a disability. It may seem ______ for other kids. However, that’s not the case for Avett Ray. Actually , this six-year-old boy shows that he has a ______ far beyond kids of his age.

The young piano genius (天才) was born ______ . But he hasn’t been held back by the difficulty. Though he can’t see, he taught himself to play the piano by ear. He ______ this when he was less than two years old, which shocked his parents. Now he has a piano teacher to help him improve his ______ . His excellent performance _______people, so they invited him to perform. He _______. After all, he wants to influence others using his example , so he welcomes every _______.

Avett Ray is very ______ about spreading his music. In fact, he asked his mom to send his videos to Adele, a ______, so that he could ask her for some advice. It is her songs that ______ him, making him decide to do something good. He hopes to use his gift to make others accept and ______ people like him. Avett Ray’s mom even ______ a book called Cotton Candy Clouds to teach people how to show support for them. “Avett Ray is a character in the book, although he appears in a small part of the book,” his mom said. “ ______ , he couldn’t see clouds, so I wrote this book to let him see them. The book says everybody is made ______ and that we’re all born with our own gifts and can do something.”