You’ve probably seen it with your own eyes before, but a research team that published its findings in the journal Science says it noticed it at an epigenetic level: big dogs age faster. Chihuahuas, for as obnoxiously yappy as they are, seemed to last forever, while Great Danes, those big lovable galoots, give you about a decade before they cross the rainbow bridge.

Researchers at Arizona State University analyzing DNA from nearly 900 dogs in the Dog Aging Project finally know why big dogs don’t last as long. It all has to do with rogue “jumping genes.”

Scientists Say ‘Jumping Genes’ Could Explain Why Big Dogs Have Shorter Lives

Inside dog DNA, a specific class of “jumping” genes called LINE1s exists. Normally, a biological process called DNA methylation stamps chemical tags onto these genes to keep them locked down, but as big dogs age, that regulatory process falls apart and LINE1s start shaking loose, jumping between chromosomes, shredding DNA apart in the process, thus causing instability in the cells, triggering inflammation and cancer.

This happens to all dogs, but in big dogs it happens catastrophically and early. Giant breeds shed roughly 35 percent more LINE1 methylation per year than smaller dogs that fit in a purse.

Or, to put it less scientifically: there’s just too much dog for their bodies to keep up with. Humans specifically bred big dogs for their rapid growth, but that early growth leads to a genetic mess later in life, as their biological clocks essentially run twice as fast as a smaller dog’s.

The researchers think these out-of-control jumping genes could be a universal mammalian aging mechanism, and that learning more about them could eventually help us learn a little about ourselves, too, since dogs get a lot of the same age-related diseases that we do, largely because we share environments.

The post Scientists Finally Figured Out Why Big Dogs Age Faster Than Small Dogs appeared first on VICE.

Bulkhead has responded to Wardogs Season 2 backlash, admitting that its progression changes in the new patch were the “wrong call.” Following complaints from players, the studio has promised balance fixes and is even considering releasing Season 3 content early.

Wardogs Developer Apologizes For Season 2 Launch

Wardogs Season 2 recently launched and quickly sparked backlash from players upset that the new content was too easy to complete. Many complained that the update didn’t deliver the fresh start they expected, with some users even unlocking most of the end-game gear within days of the wipe. Now, developer Bulkhead has responded to the criticism in a post on X.

“Season 2 was meant to be a fresh start, and for a lot of you it hasn’t felt like one. We sped up progression on deliberately and tried to balance the game better, as set out in the patch notes, but it was the wrong call. Some players are reaching end game gear like Tier 4 armour and MBTs within days, so the wipe never really landed.”

ANNOUNCEMENT

Season 2 was meant to be a fresh start, and for a lot of you it hasn't felt like one. We sped up progression on deliberately and tried to balance the game better, as set out in the patch notes, but it was the wrong call.

Some players are reaching end game gear…

— WARDOGS (@WARDOGS) October 17, 2026

Bulkhead then admitted that Wardogs Season 2 had balance issues that they plan to fix. “Some things are clearly out of balance and we’ll fix them. Others have the community split, so we want to see how those play out first.”

Will Wardogs Season 2 Get a Reset?

Despite calls for another progression wipe, Bulkhead confirmed that it will not reset Wardogs Season 2 this weekend. According to the developer, doing so would be unfair to players who are already enjoying the progression.

Instead, the studio is considering a significantly earlier launch for Season 3, along with some of its planned content, to give players another fresh start. Bulkhead says it will share more details in its developer vlog next week.

Whether that will be enough to turn around player sentiment remains to be seen. For now, Bulkhead is working on balance fixes, with an earlier Season 3 potentially giving players the fresh start they expected from Season 2.

The post Wardogs Developer Responds to Season 2 Backlash appeared first on VICE.

We’ve long known that humans are susceptible to something called the “bouba-kiki effect,” a weird trick of the brain that links the nonsense words “bouba” and “kiki” to specific shapes. “Bouba” feels soft and rounded, while “kiki” feels sharp and spiky, both looking a little like comic-book impact effects, or stars, with solid centers surrounded by spokes. Not that you needed me to explain that. You probably already imagined it.

As it turns out, a study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences suggests dogs might be just as susceptible to this weird quirk of the brain as we are.

Researchers at the University of Parma gathered 51 domestic dogs and their humans to test whether the dogs share this quirk of the brain. Sitting in a room flanked by screens displaying the respective shapes, the dogs listened to a human voice broadcast the nonsense words while cameras and AI tracked their gaze.

When “bouba” played through the speakers, the dogs lingered on the rounded shape; when “kiki” dropped, they stared harder at the spiky shape.

Dogs and Humans Share a Strange Brain Quirk, New Study Finds

To make sure the owners weren’t influencing the results, the researchers reran the trial with owners wearing headphones blasting rock music. The results stayed the same.

The first cohort showed only a mild overall bias toward the spikier “kiki” shape, which the scientists attribute to the fact that dogs’ faces look much more angular and pointy than ours. This goes hand in hand with humans showing a similarly slight bias toward “bouba,” since we’re used to seeing rounded features.  But in the second test, where the human owners wore headphones, the dogs were just as likely to think of “kiki” as spiky and “bouba” as round as we were.

This suggests that whatever drives our ability to associate sounds with symbols isn’t exclusive to us, as recent studies also show that baby chicks and even macaque monkeys seem to agree that “kiki” is spiky and “bouba” is round. This sensory wiring could be shared across species.

Who knows, maybe other animals associate the sharpness or roundness of words with the sharpness or roundness of shapes?

The post How Your Dog’s Brain Works More Like Yours Than You Think, According to Scientists appeared first on VICE.

This photo of a Borzoi lying in a patch of green grass is visually stunning, yet silly because of the angle. The angelic pup looks more like a rug than a canine spread out in the grass. His fur doesn't help him look like a dog because it's so flat and long. — Read the rest

The post This Borzoi napping in the grass looks like a rug appeared first on Boing Boing.

For over a hundred years, Denali's huskies have patrolled 1,000s of miles of wilderness. Hauling supplies through desperate conditions, these dogs are government employees who receive no paycheck. The Trump Administration doesn't want to pay for their caretakers.

The kennel program can't simply be paused during a funding shortfall and restarted when money becomes available, he said.

— Read the rest

The post Trump moves to end care for Denali's working sled dogs appeared first on Boing Boing.