Scientists suggest microbes in your gut could predict death

Scientists say that a person's gut microbes could predict if they're going to die within the coming fifteen years.

Science magazine reports that, the research involved analysing information gathered as part of a Finnish study, that has been collecting health data from thousands of participants since 1972.

In 2002 the researchers collected stool samples from participants and sequenced them fifteen years later.

The results revealed that individuals with an abundance of bacteria from a family of potentially infectious bacteria, that includes ecoli and salmonella, are fifteen percent more likely to die in the next fifteen years.

However, it remains unclear if gut microbes contribute to such outcomes or if they reflect what's going on elsewhere in the body.