Guardian Science Weekly

From dementia to heart disease: could weight-loss jabs transform chronic conditions?

Loading player...
They were developed as diabetes drugs, then their potential for promoting significant weight loss became apparent. And now study after study seems to suggest that drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy could have all sorts of health benefits, leading some scientists to hail them a breakthrough that could transform many chronic diseases of ageing. But what’s the mechanism for these effects and is it caused by more than weight loss? The Guardian’s science correspondent Nicola Davis tells Madeleine Finlay what is known so far. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod
16 Sep 2024 English United Kingdom Science · Nature

Other recent episodes

Is BMI working? Cop31 latest, the science of great conversation

Madeleine Finlay and co-host Ian Sample discuss the three science stories you need to know about this week, including an alternative to BMI for diagnosing obesity which could ‘prevent misdiagnosis for millions’. Also on the agenda: an update from this year’s Cop climate conference in Turkey, and a study that…
12 Nov 23 min

Why we get Sad and what helps

As the nights draw in, many of us can experience low mood. But for a small proportion of people a more intense depression develops through the winter months. It’s a phenomenon that since the 1980s has been labelled seasonal affective disorder, or Sad, and can be debilitating for sufferers. To…
10 Nov 16 min

‘Ferritin face’: can you really diagnose low iron from a selfie?

Social media is awash with claims iron deficiency can be identified in the mirror by dark circles, breaking hair and dry skin. But is ‘ferritin face’ real? Madeleine Finlay tells Ian Sample why so many of us struggle to keep our iron levels up, how we can actually diagnose low…
5 Nov 21 min

How a scientist went from hero to traitor in a US water crisis

When the water in Flint, Michigan, became contaminated with dangerous levels of lead, Dr Siddhartha Roy, then a third year PhD student, was part of the team of scientists who publicly contradicted state and federal claims that it was safe. He became a local hero until a new piece of…
3 Nov 18 min
All episodes