Browse evidence-based analysis of health-related claims and assertions
These diabetes drugs might actually heal worn-down joints in arthritis, not just reduce pain, by working directly on the joint tissue in ways that matter for people.
There's a protein in people's and mice's joint tissues that might be a good target for treating arthritis.
A diabetes drug called liraglutide might help protect cartilage by slowing down the breakdown of joint tissue in lab-grown mouse cells.
Liraglutide might help calm down harmful inflammation in joints by changing the behavior of immune cells in a lab dish.
A diabetes drug called liraglutide might help calm down inflammation in joint cells and immune cells in mice, especially at certain doses.
A single knee injection of a drug called liraglutide helps reduce pain in arthritic mice, and the relief starts in just 4 days and lasts up to a month with repeat doses.
For people with knee arthritis and type 2 diabetes, taking GLP-1 drugs (like Ozempic) may lower the chance of needing knee surgery — and about one-third of that benefit comes from losing weight, not just from better blood sugar control.
People with knee arthritis and type 2 diabetes who take GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic might lose knee cartilage more slowly, which could help delay joint damage.
For adults with knee pain from arthritis and type 2 diabetes, taking GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic may slightly reduce pain based on a scoring system, but the change is probably too small for people to actually notice in their daily lives.
People with knee arthritis and type 2 diabetes who take GLP-1 drugs (like Ozempic) may be less likely to need knee surgery—only 1.7% did, compared to 5.9% who didn’t take the drugs, over about 8 years.
People with knee arthritis and type 2 diabetes who take GLP-1 drugs like semaglutide tend to lose a lot more weight—about 7 extra kilograms—over nearly 8 years compared to those not taking them, and many more of them achieve meaningful weight loss.
Zooplankton in the Arctic swim up and down in the water with the moon's cycle, and scientists think this behavior is so important and widespread that it should be seen as a basic part of how the Arctic ecosystem works—especially as the region changes.
Zooplankton in the Arctic might move up and down in the water with the moon's cycle during winter, and their breathing could release carbon in monthly bursts—even when there's no sunlight or plant growth.
Zooplankton in the Arctic dive down to about 50 meters deep every month when the full moon happens, and they all do it at the same time—like clockwork—suggesting the moon controls their movement in the winter.
Arctic ocean plankton move up and down in the water every 24.8 hours during the dark winter, matching the moon's cycle — and scientists think moonlight is what tells them when to move, even in pitch-black seas.
Even when there's plenty of food around, these night birds still slow down their bodies at night—probably because it's dark and hard to find food, not just because food is scarce.
Freckled Nightjars are more likely to go into energy-saving mode based on how bright the moon is than on how cold it is, which means they might be using the moonlight to hunt instead of just reacting to the temperature.
Freckled Nightjars are night birds that sometimes chill out and go into energy-saving mode during dark nights—even when there's plenty of food. It seems they do this not because they're hungry, but because it's too dark to hunt well.
Squeezing the muscles during light workouts with a band seems to build strength just as well as heavy lifting — and this works just as well for older adults as it does for younger ones.
Doing light workouts with restricted blood flow might be just as good as heavy lifting for building strength — but easier on your joints and muscles, especially if you're recovering or not very strong.
Doing light weights with restricted blood flow seems to build leg muscles about as well as lifting heavy weights, based on what researchers have found so far.
Both light weights with restricted blood flow and heavy weights help build strength pretty well in healthy adults — the numbers show clear benefits for both.
Squeezing the blood flow while lifting light weights seems to build just as much strength as lifting heavy weights, at least for healthy adults from their 20s to 80s.
The phases of the moon might help time when night-flying birds migrate together, and all that group movement could spread nutrients and germs in ways that affect entire ecosystems.