The Secret to Anti-Aging Starts With... Dogs?
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Published 2022-05-18
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Meet Thor. He’s a 10-pound Australian Shepherd and, objectively, the cutest dog to ever live (except yours, of course). Thor is 8 years old, which means that he is likely about halfway through his life. I on the other hand am probably about a third of the way through mine. I hate that math. It seems cruel that we live so much longer than our best friends.
What can we do to help dogs live longer? That’s where this video begins. Along the way, my research took me on a journey to better understand what aging is, human and dog longevity research, how dogs and humans age differently, and why “dog years” aren't real. I met Celine Halioua, founder of a company called Loyal, which is conducting large-scale dog longevity research. And I spent some quality time with Thor.
But the best part of this video is that YOU submitted your dog videos and photos! This video is dedicated to your dogs: Poppy, Cleo (oh, hey!), Alexa, Pickles, Bree, Tuffy, Whitey, Dakota, Callan, Annie, Lonzo, Belle, Momo, Nelson, Yolie, Achilles, Yondu, Jasper, Ginny, Arya, Goldie, Macho, Mochi, Bombon, Pepe, Cheeseburger (omg), Ellie, Hagrid, Leia, Mosley, Chillie, Mery, Azure, Data, Luna, Dobby, Ketch, Sem, Hershey, Kobe, Penny, Ari, Lou, Browser, Molly, Pia, Jack, Pocky, Alphonse, Banjo, Sandy, Simba, Maha, Chip, Titus, Dougal, Apollo, Lucky, Mister, Mouse, King, Meda, Yoshi, Bacon, Mia, Sherry, and Macy. We love you. (Please let me know if you submitted but don’t see your dog’s name here! I’ll add them.)
Chapters:
00:00 How can I help my dog live longer?
01:11 What are dog years?
02:29 How do you measure aging?
03:15 The methylation “aging clock”
04:10 Why small dogs live longer
05:22 Making all dogs live longer
06:49 How to help my dog live longer now
07:43 Ode to our best friends
Be featured in an episode - upload questions for me to answer! www.dropbox.com/request/Edocsb2kErpueQ7F9T1Q
I tell different stories in different places:
You can find me on TikTok here for short, fun tech explainers: www.tiktok.com/@cleoabram
You can find me on Instagram here for more personal stories: www.instagram.com/cleoabram
You can find me on Twitter here for thoughts, threads and curated news: twitter.com/cleoabram
Bio:
Cleo Abram is an Emmy-nominated video producer and journalist. Cleo produces detailed explainer stories about technology and economics. She wrote the Coding and Diamonds episodes of Vox’s Netflix show, Explained, was the host and a senior producer of Vox’s first ever daily show, Answered, as well as a host and producer of Vox’s YouTube Originals show, Glad You Asked. She now makes her own independent show, Huge If True. Each episode takes on one big technology innovation or idea, explains what it is, and helps people imagine the ways it could improve the world we live in by answering one simple question: If this works, what could go right?
Sources and additional reading:
- “The Seven-Year Glitch,” WSJ www.wsj.com/articles/SB121997338176882143
- “Quantitative translation of dog-to-human aging by conserved remodeling of epigenetic networks” www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/829192v2
- “What the aging field needs,” Celine Halioua www.celinehh.com/aging-field
- “Why do dogs get old? Some theories of aging” skeptvet.com/Blog/2021/02/why-do-dogs-get-old-some…
- “Dogs are great models for aging biology” blog.loyalfordogs.com/dogs-are-great-models-for-ag…
Vox: www.vox.com/authors/cleo-abram
IMDb: www.imdb.com/name/nm10108242/
Gear I use:
Camera: Sony A7SIII
Lens: Sony 16–35 mm F2.8 GM
Audio: Sennheiser SK AVX and Zoom H4N Pro
Music: Musicbed
Follow along for more episodes of Huge If True: youtube.com/cleoabram?sub_confirmation=1
—
Welcome to the joke down low (an idea 100% in reference to Answer In Progress’ awesome “joke below the fold” - I always scroll down to see them and always wanted to do this myself too):
What do you get when you cross a dog and a calculator?
A friend you can count on.
Find a way to use the word “friend” in a comment to let me know you’re a real one ;)
All Comments (21)
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Did you spot your dog in this video?? I loved seeing all the videos/photos you submitted. This video is dedicated to your dogs: Poppy, Cleo (oh, hey!), Alexa, Pickles, Bree, Tuffy, Whitey, Dakota, Callan, Annie, Lonzo, Belle, Momo, Nelson, Yolie, Achilles, Yondu, Jasper, Ginny, Arya, Goldie, Macho, Mochi, Bombon, Pepe, Cheeseburger (omg), Ellie, Hagrid, Leia, Mosley, Chillie, Mery, Azure, Data, Luna, Dobby, Ketch, Sem, Hershey, Kobe, Penny, Ari, Lou, Browser, Molly, Pia, Jack, Pocky, Alphonse, Banjo, Sandy, Simba, Maha, Chip, Titus, Dougal, Apollo, Lucky, Mister, Mouse, King, Meda, Yoshi, Bacon, Mia, Sherry, and Macy. We love you. (Please let me know if you submitted but don’t see your dog’s name here! I’ll add them to the description.)
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This video made me remember the quote I read years ago: "He might only be here for a part of your life, but for him, you are his whole life." And like the quote, your video hit home!
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To me, "anti-aging in humans" makes me think "eh, I'm not sure I wanna live longer." But, with "anti-aging in dogs," I'm like "yes, please!"
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Got a bit emotional nearing the end of the video. I live about 2 hours from my hometown due to university and my parents are taking care of my dog there. He's turning 13 in a couple months and it's really hard not being able to see him everyday like I used to. I LOVE that little fella, but as a dog owner/lover you can't help but think of the day when he'll no longer be here. Great video Cleo!
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"It's amazing that our totally different lives overlapped!" ...what a beautiful quote! 😍🐾 Talking about beautiful... we love all the details in this video (Thor in the intro, wiggling labs on the chart and all the paws on the lifespan curve) and the "How to help your dog not die" chapter at 7:18 . In our film studio, there are always furry friends around, who wiggle around the office. Dogs are just great company, no matter if at home or at work! Let's make their life as long as possibl
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My sweet old 14 year old girl Bindy passed away this February from bone cancer. I was her whole world and the past couple years work kept me away most of the day. I loved her more than anything and I still get so upset thinking about it. Give your dogs a big squeeze and a treat for me. <3
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I was absolutely sobbing towards then end of this video, but I am so glad I was able to watch this. I hope Loyal are successful in their research, thought it will probably be too late for my older dog. Please excuse me whilst I go and give my two dogs another hug!
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The ending thought about being there for your dog's whole life made me cry
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Thanks for featuring so many of our best friends in this video ❤️
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My parents got me a dog when they adopted me at 3 months old and it lived till I was 32 he was a Heinz 57 and stayed outside his whole life and got table scraps all the time. my parents would get so mad at him for chasing the chickens around, so my dad did this twice, he drove the dog between 30 and 40 miles away and let him go, the next morning he would always be right there on the deck waiting for me, was the most loyal animal I ever had.
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Having just lost our dog 2 weeks ago at 13.5yo made this hard to watch, but your storytelling / video making is so good i watched the whole video and felt your desire for dog aging to be inproved. Love your videos by the way!!
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Got my first dog as an adult a little over a year ago. I’m 40. Big mistake. Don’t wait if you have the time and desire. Also don’t be one of the people that neglect animals. It’s like having a kid in a sense. But one that doesn’t whine and is always up for adventures. I have a 4yr old BC and he’s changed my life ❤️🏆
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Once I head that the reason we become so attached to our dogs, sometimes more than to humans is because with humans it always gets messy, but with dogs there is only love. And I do believe that. I'm on my third dog that I'm taking care of since he was a puppy and I've love them all so, so much, but in such different ways, they all had such different personalities and I'll forever be thankful for each and everyone of them. My current pupper is at least 50% of my mental stability. :D So yeah, we don't deserve dogs, but only a fool would give them back
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Ended up crying with the last quote, so cute ❤️
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Couple days ago we had to put our 15 year old lab down because Trixie had cancer and was in so much pain. I hope they find success in this project. Watching this made me tear up all ocer again, thank you sincerely.
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Quickly becoming one of the best informative channels on the platform! Also Thor is adorable!
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I’m putting my 15-year-old dog to sleep today. I both needed and didn’t need this video today
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you got me tearing up at the end...that every day of his life is with you 😭😭😭 great video
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The ending made me cry. Very beautiful work you've done with your last videos but I always remember the quote of Jack London- "The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time."
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Thor is such a cutie!!! He must steal so many hearts.
