What Do Microbes Have to Do with How We Age? Everything, Actually

CDC, Unsplash / iStock / Ana Luisa O.J.

This story was originally published on thewalrus.ca

By B. Brett Finlay and Jessica M. Finlay

From the moment we are born, we begin to die. Aging is a universal but uniquely personal experience. It scares us, bullies us, and motivates us to live better. Because we, as a species, are living longer and longer (more than eighty years nowadays in most high-income countries), every one of us has even more time than ever before to grapple with aging and mortality. Despite what advertisements and doctors may tell us, there is no way to simply “turn back the clock,” but we still try to delay the inevitable. We all search for ways to prolong our lives and preserve our bodies—these complex machines made of muscle, bone, and a host of other tissues, our minds, our hearing and eyesight, even our looks. Pharmacy and grocery store aisles—as well as social media—are full of anti-aging products, ranging from serums and creams to fight wrinkles and banish spots, to vitamins and supplements promising an elusive “youthful glow.”

Scientific studies suggest myriad ways to intervene in the aging process, including antioxidants, calorie restriction, hormone supplements, and a host of dermatological procedures and treatments. Although many of these methods have been touted as glamorous and high-tech, one of the most exciting frontiers of current aging science involves the oldest life forms on Earth: microbes.

Contrary to the cutting-edge scientific inventions we’re using to make alternative time-reversers, these bacteria have been around for more than 3.5 billion years, from a time when our planet was covered in oceans that regularly reached boiling point. Our climate has changed dramatically, but microbes are still everywhere: in the air you breathe (they actually made the original oxygen in the atmosphere), on the chair you sit in, and in the food in your fridge. In fact, there are more microbes in a gram of feces than there are people on the entire planet!

Microbes are our constant companions throughout life. Commonly known as germs, they come in many forms, including bacteria, viruses, protozoa, algae, and fungi. While we often blame them for disease, we have only recently realized they are, in fact, absolutely essential for a healthy life. We could not exist without them. But what do