10 million deaths predicted but science is fighting back! The secret gut viruses that attack cancer, fight infection and slow aging | Prof Martha Clokie & Prof Tim Spector

10 million deaths a year.

That is how many people are predicted to die from antibiotic-resistant infections if we do not find new treatments.

In today’s episode, Professor Martha Clokie and Professor Tim Spector explore the secret gut viruses, known as phages, being studied to fight deadly infection, target cancer cells, and to protect your gut microbiome.

Martha is a world-leading expert on the mysterious phage and, for the last 20 years, has pioneered research to revolutionise the treatment of infections without antibiotics. She explains why antibiotic resistance is a growing global threat, why everyday infections are becoming harder to treat, and how some bacteria are now resistant to every antibiotic available. We explore how the viruses in our gut may help solve this problem, and how scientists may one day use them to deliver highly targeted cancer treatment.

By the end of the episode, you’ll have some ideas to help support a healthier gut ecosystem and understand how to increase the number of friendly gut viruses that live inside you.

The science is still early, but the message is clear: the small choices we make every day are shaping our long-term resilience to disease.

If viruses can help protect us from infection rather than cause it, how much of human health are we only just beginning to understand?

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Timecodes

00:00 Intro

01:34 The gut viruses scientists say we need to survive

03:19 There are more gut viruses than stars in the universe

10:50 The billion-year war happening inside your gut

13:10 The hidden system controlling your microbiome

14:42 What healthy microbiomes have that unhealthy guts lose

16:33 The gut viruses that may protect you from infection

17:38 Why your immune system allows trillions of viruses to live inside you

19:25 The natural viruses that kill salmonella

20:52 Why ageing may weaken your gut’s viral defences

22:05 Scientists still don’t know what most gut viruses do

25:12 The strange origin story of phage therapy

27:22 Doctors are already using viruses to treat deadly infections

28:02 Why antibiotics are starting to fail

29:07 The deadly infection crisis bigger than cancer

30:38 How factory farming fuels antibiotic resistance

32:27 The antibiotic resistance emergency is already here

33:25 The forgotten treatment abandoned after antibiotics

35:50 Why phage therapy may spare your microbiome

36:37 The dying patient saved by experimental viruses

39:41 Could phages replace antibiotics in the future?

40:50 The viruses scientists are using to target cancer cells

44:35 How diet shapes the viruses living in your gut

46:05 The surprising link between coffee and gut health

47:25 The foods that may increase healthy gut viruses

50:34 The future of gut health, cancer treatment and infection prevention

📚Books by our ZOE Scientists

The Food For Life Cookbook

Every Body Should Know This by Dr Federica Amati

Food For Life by Prof. Tim Spector

Ferment by Prof. Tim Spector

Good Mood Food (preorder) by Prof. Tim Spector

Free resources from ZOE

The Hormone Harmony Guide: Tuning Your Body’s Internal Orchestra

Eating for Better Brain Health: Your brain-gut blueprint

How to eat in 2026 - Discover ZOE’s 8 nutrition principles for long-term health

Live Healthier: Top 10 Tips From ZOE Science & Nutrition

Gut Guide - For a Healthier Microbiome in Weeks

Better Breakfast Guide

Mentioned in today's episode

How gut viruses shape your gut microbiome

Phages to the rescue, Trends in Microbiology (2024)

Compounds in the foods we eat can trigger phage production, Gut Microbes (2020)

Microbiomes of garden vs supermarket produce, Nature (2022)

Phage Therapy at Belgium’s Queen Astrid Military Hospital, Viruses (2019)

Habitual coffee intake shapes the gut microbiome, Nature (2026)

Have feedback or a topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know here.Episode transcripts are available here.