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Scientists Working To Extend Lifespan of Pets (sciencemag.org)
sciencehabit writes: Scientists have explored the mysteries of aging in humans for hundreds of years, but now they're beginning to turn their attention to our pets. Why do cats live longer than dogs? Why do small dogs live longer than big ones? The answers could help us prolong the lifespans of our favorite companion animals, as well as shed light on the mysteries of aging in humans.
"The same things that allow us to live longer also apply to our pets," says João Pedro de Magalhães, a biogerontologist at the University of Liverpool in the United Kingdom who maintains AnAge, the world's largest database of animal life spans. "I don't think there's a set max. longevity for any species," he says. "The real question is, 'How far can we go?' Maybe a thousand years from now you could have a dog that lives 300 years."
"The same things that allow us to live longer also apply to our pets," says João Pedro de Magalhães, a biogerontologist at the University of Liverpool in the United Kingdom who maintains AnAge, the world's largest database of animal life spans. "I don't think there's a set max. longevity for any species," he says. "The real question is, 'How far can we go?' Maybe a thousand years from now you could have a dog that lives 300 years."
When pets die it is like a practice run for the children in the family to learn to cope with death. If a child has been through the process of grieving for a pet they will have that experience to help them get through the much more traumatic effects of the death of human family member.
Stop selectively breeding them. Look at bulldogs. They've basically been bred to have the most pronounced defects possible, and suffer comparatively short lives as a consequence.
The Daddy casts sleep on the Baby. The Baby resists!
Want to explain why mice or gerbils or hamsters don't live to be 100 then?
Not to mention the fact that in 50-100 years we would only know that a dog could have a lifespan of 50-100 years. It would take at least 300 years before we would know a dog could have a 300 year lifespan.