Viruses living in human gut could help regulate stress, study suggests

A bacteriophage is a virus that infects bacteria and replicates alongside them. Photograph: Science Photo Library/Alamy

Viruses are widely regarded as harmful to our health, but a subset of viruses living in the gut could play a crucial role in regulating stress, research suggests.

The discovery adds to mounting evidence that interactions between the gut and brain influence people’s behaviours, and could eventually lead to new treatments for stress-related conditions that target the vast community of viruses living inside us.