Most adolescent humans will have DNA marks that are in one pattern, while humans nearing 65 or 70 show a different pattern of DNA marks. A complete set of the methyl marks on DNA is called a methylome (METH-el-ohm).ДЄs an animal ages, so does its methylome. The marks determine how different genes in the DNA get used to make proteins. She studies genetics at the National Human Genome Research Institute in Bethesda, Md. вЂњThink of taking a вЂ¦ marker and start drawing in different places in the genome,вЂќ says Elaine Ostrander. The genome is the complete set of the genes present in an organismвЂ™s DNA. The tags, known as methyl groups, act like little switches that can turn on or off particular genes in that DNA. But over time, this DNA acquires or loses tiny chemical вЂњtags.вЂќ These are called epigenetic changes. The molecule that carries genetic instructions stays the same. As we go through those stages, our DNA also undergoes a change. WeвЂ™re babies (or puppies), then kids (or, er, still puppies), then adolescents and then adults. вЂњIt slows down over time.вЂќ Explainer: What is epigenetics?ДЇortunately, dogs and humans both hit very similar developmental milestones. вЂњWhen youвЂ™re a newborn, your body is changing very quickly,вЂќ Pellegrini explains. Aging doesnвЂ™t even happen at the same pace over an individualвЂ™s life. This is because species develop at very different rates. A one-year-old dog is adult enough to have puppies of its own. After all, a one-year-old baby is just learning to walk. So, he notes, вЂњItвЂ™s just dividing the human lifespan by the dog lifespan.вЂќД«ut there are problems with that simple computation. On average, people live seven times longer than a dog. On the surface, he notes, multiplying by seven makes sense. He studies bioinformatics - a research field that uses computers to analyze biological data. Multiplying a dogвЂ™s age by seven doesnвЂ™t really work, says Matteo Pellegrini at the University of California, Los Angeles. Your dogвЂ™s actually more like a 53-year-old human. But that would probably be wrong, a new study shows. That would make your dog equivalent to a 28-year-old human. You might have heard that to get a dogвЂ™s вЂњbiologicalвЂќ age, just multiply its age in years by seven. At that age, a human would still be a kid. How old is your dog? Maybe it was born four years ago.

Animal age calculator