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."

Comments

Why do cats live longer than dogs? That's easy

[UnknowingFool]

Every dog person knows it's because cats steal the souls of their owners. I kid! I kid!

Re:Why do cats live longer than dogs? That's easy

[bugs2squash]

It will be a blessed relief to get into a flame war between dog people and cat people, I'm fed up typing in the same old rants about guns and religions every month.

Re:Why do cats live longer than dogs? That's easy

[Cro Magnon]

But, does your dog prefer PC or Mac?

Re:Why do cats live longer than dogs? That's easy

[ole_timer]

The dog prefers to chew on the more expensive toys - so mac.

Death Serves a Purpose

[Anonymous Coward]

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.

Re:Death Serves a Purpose

[pushing-robot]

True, but it's rather macabre to wish death on an animal so your children can experience grief.

As TFS points out, "The same things that allow us to live longer also apply to our pets"; hopefully your human family members will live longer along with your pets.

Re:Death Serves a Purpose

[PvtVoid]

I had to rub my eyes and read again to be sure I didn't read that wrong.

So your point is that pet should die so it can be a good "life lesson" for our kid. Really?

That's not why you buy a pet. But it is part of owning a pet, just as death is a natural part of life. Owning a pet teaches a child about compassion, responsibility, and the cycle of life, including death and grieving. All of these things are valuable lessons for a kid, including the last part. What's a terrible lesson for a kid is to teach them that they can buy their way out of anything unpleasant that might ever happen to them.

If you want your dogs to live longer

[chispito]

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.

Re:Size of the animal

[jabuzz]

Want to explain why mice or gerbils or hamsters don't live to be 100 then?

Re:Extremely pessimstic

[fropenn]

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.

Let's turn our attention to our pets.

[AndyKron]

I guess all the world's problems have been solved now. Let's turn our attention to our pets.