🐶 Dogs and humans share the same aging markers

Scientists from the Dog Aging Project have just made a surprising observation: the biological signals of longevity in humans are also present in dogs.

Their work, published in The Journals of Gerontology, shows that metabolites – the small molecules produced by the body – linked to early or late death are similar. This finding paves the way for a better understanding of aging, both in humans and dogs.


Metabolites reflect cellular activity. To study them, the researchers collected blood from dogs participating in the Dog Aging Project, a community science program where owners provide very detailed information about their companion's life. By analyzing thousands of metabolites simultaneously, they identified patterns associated with faster or slower death. These biomarkers are not necessarily the cause of death, but they help to understand the biological processes at play.

To verify these signals, the team compared its results to five major human mortality studies using the same metabolic approach. In all cases, the patterns associated with early or late death were similar. This consistency reinforces the idea that dogs and humans share fundamental aging mechanisms.

Dogs are particularly useful in this type of research because they share their owners' daily life: environment, diet, physical activity. Their shorter lifespan (12 to 13 years on average) allows the effects of aging to be observed much more quickly than in humans. These similarities offer scientists the opportunity to use human knowledge to improve the health of dogs, and vice versa.

The Dog Aging Project made this study possible by collecting a large amount of data on companion dogs across the United States. Participating owners provide annual information and biological samples, creating a unique resource for studying aging. According to Creevy, the commitment of the owners is remarkable and essential to the research.