Nature Study Finds Late-Life Semaglutide Treatment Extends Lifespan in Female Mice

A study published online ahead of print in Nature on September 2, 2026 reports that semaglutide, the GLP-1 receptor agonist marketed as Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus, slowed markers of ageing and extended lifespan when given late in life to female mice. The paper, "Late-life semaglutide treatment slows ageing and extends lifespan in female mice," was led by corresponding author Danica Chen and lead author Yufan Feng, both in the Department of Metabolic Biology and Nutrition at the University of California, Berkeley, with additional co-authors at UC Berkeley, the University of Copenhagen, and the National Institute on Aging.

Researchers treated 20-month-old female C57BL/6 mice, an age considered elderly for the strain, with semaglutide for three months. According to the published abstract, the treatment improved physiological function, attenuated hallmarks of ageing, and modulated nutrient-sensing pathways and genetic regulators of ageing. A separate group of mice continued on semaglutide for the remainder of their lives; according to a University of California, Berkeley news release and independent science press coverage of the study, those mice had a median lifespan about 100 days longer than untreated control mice.

In a longitudinal comparison, the researchers directly compared semaglutide treatment against calorie restriction, a dietary intervention already known to slow ageing and extend lifespan in mice, over five months. The calorie-restricted group ate about 24% fewer calories, matched to the intake reduction seen in the semaglutide-treated animals. Semaglutide reproduced many of the functional benefits associated with calorie restriction in blunting age-related decline. On several measures, including exploratory behavior, spatial memory, and glucose control, semaglutide-treated mice showed improvements that went beyond what calorie restriction alone produced, and unlike the calorie-restricted mice, their metabolic rate did not decline, according to the Berkeley release and secondary reporting on the study.

"We are very excited by this new study, because it could potentially broaden the application of GLP-1 medicines to healthy aging individuals to extend lifespan and healthspan," Chen said, according to the UC Berkeley news release. Chen also said the divergence between the semaglutide and calorie-restriction groups on some measures "point[s] to the possibility that GLP-1 drugs tap into a biological pathway independent of calorie restriction."

Rafael de Cabo of the National Institute on Aging, who was not an author on the study, was quoted by the science news outlet News-Medical.Net saying, "Most chronic diseases are deeply rooted in the aging process. If GLP-1 agonists do indeed slow it down, then a wide range of clinical benefits is exactly what you'd expect to see." The National Institute on Aging, part of the National Institutes of Health, is among the study's funders.

The paper's authors disclosed that the Regents of the University of California have filed a patent application covering GLP-1 receptor agonists for healthy ageing, naming members of the research team. Nature also published an accompanying news article on the study the same day, and Nature Aging published a short commentary on the findings on September 3, 2026.

The research was conducted only in female mice and has not been replicated in male mice or in humans, so it does not establish that semaglutide slows ageing or extends lifespan in people. Semaglutide remains approved by the FDA, the European Medicines Agency, and Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration only for its existing indications, which vary by formulation and jurisdiction and include type 2 diabetes, chronic weight management, and reduction of cardiovascular risk in adults with established cardiovascular disease. This study does not change that approved status or establish an anti-ageing or longevity indication in any species, and nothing in it constitutes treatment or dosing guidance.