GoKawiilStudy of 900 dogs links breed size, sex to pace of epigenetic aging
Researchers analyzing nearly 900 dogs across roughly 120 breeds found that larger dogs accumulate age-related epigenetic changes—chemical modifications to DNA that affect gene activity—faster than smaller dogs. Male dogs also built up these changes more quickly than females, a pattern that held even among dogs neutered early in life. The findings, published in Science, come from the Dog Aging Project, which has enrolled about 55,000 dogs whose owners submit health surveys and blood samples.