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Swearing is generally considered a bad habit, but a recent study concludes that it might make you stronger.

Alongside breathing and paying tax, swearing is a universal part of the human experience. Whether you never swear at all or make a regular habit of it, swear words are all around us.

From giggling schoolchildren through to grumpy grandparents, swearing is rife.

A new study using data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative, a multi-center observational study of nearly 3500 participants, indicates that people who hear grating, cracking, or popping sounds in or around their knee joint may be at increased risk of developing knee osteoarthritis.

This was a study of people who were at high risk for developing knee osteoarthritis. Among those who developed it within a year, more than 75% had signs of osteoarthritis on radiographic images but no frequent knee pain at the start of the study.

The findings may be helpful for identifying individuals at risk for knee osteoarthritis, potentially assisting with earlier diagnosis and intervention.

Runners, swimmers, and cyclists are familiar with the phenomenon of "hitting the wall" when the connection between brain and body feels like it's been lost: You know that you're still trying to move, but doing it feels more conceptual than physical. In Cell Metabolism, researchers show in mice the physiological basis for why this phenomenon occurs. Their research also found that training is not the only way to enhance endurance - it can also be achieved using a small molecule to stimulate a pathway that was already known to be activated by training.

"It turns out that 'hitting the wall' happens when your brain can no longer get enough glucose.

Researchers say that it may be possible to simulate the body's response to exercise with a drug.

Researchers from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, CA, have discovered a chemical compound that can activate a gene normally stimulated by running.

By activating this gene - called PPAR delta (PPARD) - in sedentary mice, the researchers were able to mimic the beneficial effects of aerobic exercise, such as increased endurance and fat burning.

Researchers have found that weight loss can slow degeneration of the knee joint.

Researchers found that overweight or obese adults experienced slower degeneration of knee joint structures after losing 5 or 10 percent of their body weight over 4 years, compared with those who did not lose weight.

Using new gene-editing technology, researchers have rewired mouse stem cells to fight inflammation caused by arthritis and other chronic conditions. Such stem cells, known as SMART cells (Stem cells Modified for Autonomous Regenerative Therapy), develop into cartilage cells that produce a biologic anti-inflammatory drug that, ideally, will replace arthritic cartilage and simultaneously protect joints and other tissues from damage that occurs with chronic inflammation.

The cells were developed at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Shriners Hospitals for Children-St. Louis, in collaboration with investigators at Duke University and Cytex Therapeutics Inc.

Research finds that a new OA drug is able to kill old cells.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a type of arthritis that occurs when cartilage at the ends of bones wears down. It can affect any joint in the body, but it most commonly affects the hands, neck, lower back, knees, and hips.

In people over the age of 60, OA occurs in 10 percent of men and 13 percent of women.

Older people newly prescribed sleeping pills like benzodiazepines and 'Z-drugs' have over double the odds of a hip fracture in the first two weeks compared with non-users, according to a new study by researchers at Cardiff University and King's College London.

Dr Ben Carter, Cardiff University's School of Medicine and the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, explains: "While 'Z-drugs are fast becoming the doctor's hypnotic prescription of choice, there is no evidence that they are a safer alternative to benzodiazepines in relation to hip fracture risk.

"Our study shows that both appear to significantly increase the risk of hip fracture when newly prescribed by doctors.