A stealthy Harvard startup wants to reverse aging in dogs, and huma...

From Technology Review

The world’s most influential synthetic biologist is behind a new company that plans to rejuvenate dogs using gene therapy. If it works, he plans to try the same approach in people, and he might be one of the first volunteers.
The stealth startup Rejuvenate Bio, cofounded by George Church of Harvard Medical School, thinks dogs aren’t just man’s best friend but also the best way to bring age-defeating treatments to market.

The company, which has carried out preliminary tests on beagles, claims it will make animals “younger" by adding new DNA instructions to their bodies.

Its age-reversal plans build on tantalizing clues seen in simple organisms like worms and flies. Tweaking their genes can increase their life spans by double or better. Other research has shown that giving old mice blood transfusions from young ones can restore some biomarkers to youthful levels.

Harvard biologist George Church is working on technology to reverse aging in dogs and humans.
EDGE FOUNDATION
“We have already done a bunch of trials in mice and we are doing some in dogs, and then we’ll move on to humans,” Church told the podcaster Rob Reid earlier this year. The company’s other founders, CEO Daniel Oliver and science lead Noah Davidsohn, a postdoc in Church’s sprawling Boston lab, declined to be interviewed for this article.

The company’s efforts to keep its activities out of the press make it unclear how many dogs it has treated so far. In a document provided by a West Coast veterinarian, dated last June, Rejuvenate said its gene therapy had been tested on four beagles with Tufts Veterinary School in Boston. It is unclear whether wider tests are under way.

Read more: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/611018/a-stealthy-harvard-startup-wants-to-reverse-aging-in-dogs-and-humans-could-be-next/

I'm currently caring for an aging lab/husky mix. She was a rescue so the exact age is unknown, she's probably 12 or 13 years old. This last year she has pretty much fallen apart. She developed diabetes, has crippling arthritis and needs help getting up and a big cyst growing on her liver. I really hope this technology can become mainstream and affordable for my next dog. I know my current one won't last long enough but it would be nice if man's best friend was able to live a little longer. I keep thinking it was too short and time just flew by. One day they are chasing squirrels and then the next they are falling over while trying to take a shit. Such is life.