Of Pooches And Clocks

Of Pooches and Clocks

Science has figured out how to convert dog years to human years – at least for one breed.

In a recent study, researchers studied genetic material from more than 100 Labrador retrievers of various ages to better understand the epigenetic clock that controls how dogs age, Popular Mechanics reported.

Scientists analyzed DNA methylation – the chemical modifications to certain DNA segments – which in humans can reveal the impact of disease, lifestyle and genetics on DNA.

DNA methylation allows researchers to better understand how people age, and the modifications have been observed in other animals, such as mice and wolves.

The research team noted that certain segments in the Labrador and human genomes showed similar rates of methylation, which means that dogs and humans age in similar ways.

Dogs’ epigenetic clocks tick much faster than the human one, but canine and human life stages sync up: For example, puppies and babies start teething at nearly the same equivalent age.

Now, to properly measure this in human years, scientists have come up with a simple formula: multiply the natural logarithm (ln) of the dog’s age in human years by 16 and then add 31.

Here’s the formula: (16 x ln) + 31

Researchers now hope to expand their study to include more dog breeds to increase the accuracy.