What the gut microbiome of the world’s oldest person can tell us about ageing

By Rachel Woods, Senior Lecturer in Physiology, University of Lincoln

When María Branyas Morera died in 2024 at the age of 117, she left more than memories. She left science a gift: samples of her microbiome.

Researchers discovered her gut was as diverse as someone decades younger: rich in beneficial bacteria linked to resilience and longevity. Her daily yoghurt habit and Mediterranean diet may have helped. While we can’t all inherit “lucky genes”, nurturing our microbiome may be one way to support lifelong health.

In a recent paper in Cell…

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