Ozempic and Wegovy slow down biological ageing; creation of synthetic bacterium; geology of the Russian earthquake

奥泽米普和威戈威减缓生物衰老;合成细菌的创造;俄罗斯地震的地质学

New Scientist Podcasts

2025-08-01

28 分钟
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单集简介 ...

Episode 314 Weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy have been shown to slow down - or even reverse - the ageing process. In a trial of 84 people taking semaglutide, their biological age dropped by 3.1 years on average, with some organs becoming almost 5 years younger. Based on this new research, this finding could make these some of the most impactful anti-ageing drugs on the market. So how are they doing it? Scientists have very nearly created a new lifeform. A synthetic bacterium has been created with 101,000 changes to its genome - clearing up redundant code in its DNA. By freeing up codons in its genetic code, this bacteria could make new kinds of proteins unlike anything that exists naturally - and pave the way for creating virus resistance bacteria. The recent earthquake off the coast of east Russia was the sixth biggest ever recorded. Thankfully the ensuing tsunami has been manageable - unlike previous record-setting quakes. With two large “foreshocks” before the big one, we ask a professor of tectonics about the geology of the region.  Chapters: (00:34) Weight-loss drugs slow down ageing (10:59) Creation of a new synthetic bacterium (21:52) Geology of the Russian earthquake Hosted by Rowan Hooper and Sam Wong, with guests Alexandra Thompson, Michael Le Page, Andrew Steele, Wes Robertson and Lisa Mcneill. To read more about these stories, visit https://www.newscientist.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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单集文稿 ...

  • This episode is sponsored by Wellcome's podcast, When Science Finds a Way.

  • Welcome to The World, the Universe and Us, a weekly news podcast from New Scientist.

  • I'm Rowan Hooper.

  • But you're not Penny Sarche.

  • No, I'm Sam Wong.

  • On today's show, we talk with a professor of tectonics about the recent Russian earthquake,

  • which is the sixth biggest quake ever recorded.

  • And we have the startling news that a bacterium has been created with more than 100,000 changes to its genome.

  • So we can almost say we've created a life form.

  • Almost, but not quite.

  • But it's definitely the most unnatural thing we've ever created.

  • And that's coming up.

  • But we're going to start with the equally exciting news that the weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovi,

  • they slow down biological ageing.

  • Now, we've all heard of Ozempic and Wegovi.

  • They use a hormone mimic called semaglutide to dramatically help people lose weight.

  • And it's been... extraordinary how the use of these drugs has taken off over the last few years.

  • It's transformative.

  • I think I've said on the podcast before,

  • I can't think of another drug that's had quite as big an impact as those.