Hawaii study links gut microbiome patterns to DNA methylation aging rates

Researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa found that certain gut microbial patterns were associated with faster or slower biological aging, SciTechDaily reports. Published in Scientific Reports, the study found that variation in gut bacteria accounted for about 15% of the differences in participants' biological aging rates. The team examined stool and blood samples from 123 adults across a wide age range and compared gut bacteria with molecular aging measures based on DNA methylation. Senior author Alika K. Maunakea of the UH Mānoa John A. Burns School of Medicine said microbial patterns were significantly associated with molecular measures of aging even independent of chronological age. The paper is listed as "Gut microbiome signatures associate with DNA methylation-based biological aging" by Braden P. Kunihiro, Brennan Y. Yamamoto, Ruben Juarez, and Alika K. Maunakea, 14 July 2026 (DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-52974-x). Longevity and microbiome researchers gain a quantified link between gut composition and methylation clocks; aging models that ignore the microbiome leave that 15% slice unexplained.