ABSTRACT
Microbiota and its impact on human health has become a topical area of microbiological research. However, health is a vast field as explored in a parallel minireview (Brüssow, submitted) and the role of the gut microbiota on human health has been discussed under many headings. In the present minireview, I will concentrate on one specific aspect. Our societies are ageing and if we want to avoid that our societies will suffer from an increasing burden of disease, we must also assure healthy ageing. This subject has not only a high societal priority, it has also a long tradition in microbiology.
