Boing Boing

Boing Boing

Stanford study links gut bacteria to age-related memory loss

Ellsworth Toohey
Mar 12, 2026
∙ Paid

image: Chanawat Phadwichit/Shutterstock.com

Old mice got smarter when researchers tweaked their gut bacteria and stimulated the vagus nerve — restoring cognitive performance to young-animal levels, according to Stanford Medicine.

The study, published in Nature, traced the mechanism in detail. A bacterium called Parabacteroides goldsteinii proliferates as …

User's avatar

Continue reading this post for free, courtesy of Boing Boing.

Or purchase a paid subscription.
© 2026 Happy Mutants LLC · Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start your SubstackGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture