Sharks Sleep

15/03/2022

Work is underway to make this happen. In one study, researchers strapped silicon sensors to people and their pets to measure their exposure levels to pesticides and herbicides in the home and yard. The exposure levels between humans and their pets were strikingly similar. This study suggests our pets may serve as harbingers of harmful environmental exposures—the so-called canary in the coal mine.

15/03/2022

Studies show that asbestos exposure can lead to mesothelioma, a malignant tumor that forms on the lining of tissues throughout the body in both dogs and humans. To***co smoke can cause lung cancer in humans, lymphoma in cats and nasal cancers in dogs. Learning how to lessen toxin exposure in companion animals could speed up the use of similar strategies to keep humans healthy.

15/03/2022

Cancer is a leading cause of death for cats and dogs. As with people, the disease develops over a long period of time, and the same conditions that create cancer in humans also apply to them.

Here are some examples: Scientists have long noted the similarities in mutations and biological changes in dogs and people with melanoma, lymphoma, and lung cancers. A growing segment of veterinarians, human medical doctors and cancer scientists are using these shared characteristics to develop improved therapeutics for pet dogs with cancer. Many researchers believe this will help them develop effective treatments for humans as well.

15/03/2022

You may wonder if the same information could be gleaned from laboratory animals. After all, scientists have been obtaining important data from them for decades to develop new products. But cancer is induced in lab animals artificially, primarily through surgeries or injections; companion animals “naturally” develop disease, and data from them reflect more realistic estimates when serving as precursors to investigations in humans.

15/03/2022

This approach cuts by decades the amount of time it takes for data to come in. Consider that veterinarians observe and care for cats and dogs as they age and die over a life span of roughly 10 to 15 years. In comparison, gathering similar data from humans over a lifetime takes from 60 to 100 years.

15/03/2022

But because of the remarkable similarities in the biology and habitats of cats, dogs and people, it’s possible researchers can also extract this data on pets and extrapolate it to humans. Therein lies the opportunity to discover biomedical innovations that benefit not only your pet, but you as well.

15/03/2022

Over decades, researchers have accumulated what is now a treasure trove of cancer data on companion animals. This data holds clues—and perhaps, answers—to how and why pets can get cancer, and how to keep it in check or get rid of it.

15/03/2022

There are many reasons why this is true. Domesticated cats and dogs share approximately 85 percent of the same DNA as humans. And because both have been intimately associated with people for more than 10,000 years, they have become susceptible to some of the same diseases.

15/03/2022

One way to help make that happen is through the study of cats and dogs. As a professor of oncology and doctor of veterinary medicine who has been researching cancer in dogs for more than 40 years, I learned long ago that companion animals can teach us an enormous amount about how to prevent and treat cancer in people.

15/03/2022

But that progress is only the beginning. More is expected in the coming years and decades, particularly following President Biden’s recent announcement of a new “cancer moonshot” initiative, coupled with a pledge to “end cancer as we know it.”

15/03/2022

15/03/2022