Scientists May Want Your Dog for Major New Study

Researchers looking for 10K dogs to participate in study on aging
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Nov 14, 2019 1:20 PM CST
Biggest Dog Study Ever May Benefit Humans, Too
University of Washington School of Medicine researcher Daniel Promislow, the principal investigator of the Dog Aging Project grant, sits with his elderly dog Frisbee at their home in Seattle.   (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Can old dogs teach us new tricks? Scientists are looking for 10,000 pets for the largest-ever study of aging in canines. And they hope to shed light on human longevity, too, per the AP. The project will collect a pile of pooch data: vet records, DNA samples, gut microbes, and information on food and walks. Five hundred dogs will test a pill that could slow the aging process. To nominate a pet, owners can visit the Dog Aging Project’s website. “What we learn will potentially be good for dogs and has great potential to translate to human health,” said project co-director Daniel Promislow of the University of Washington School of Medicine. If scientists find a genetic marker for a type of cancer in dogs, for instance, that could be explored in humans.

Owners will complete periodic online surveys and take their dogs to the vet once a year, with the possibility of extra visits for certain tests. Their welfare will be monitored by a bioethicist and a panel of animal welfare advisers. The five-year study was formally launched Thursday at a science meeting in Austin, Texas. The National Institute on Aging is paying for the $23 million project because dogs and humans share the same environment, get the same diseases, and dogs’ shorter lifespans allow quicker research results, said deputy director, Dr. Marie Bernard. The data collected will be available to all scientists.

(More dogs stories.)

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