Not just for humans: gene therapy to extend longevity is under investigation for dogs, too. Credit: Juliana Yamada/Los Angeles Times/Getty

Vera Gorbunova has attended many a longevity conference over her decades of studying ageing. But never one quite like this.

Earlier this month, Gorbunova, a researcher at Rochester University in New York, joined scientists from industry and academia — and a fair few of their dogs — for the Animal Longevity Summit in Toronto, Canada. Given it was the inaugural summit, it was small. But it highlighted a growing interest in the science of extending the lifespan of pets .

On the agenda were presentations by academic researchers such as Gorbunova, who studies ageing in various animal species . Others presented projects about understanding cancer in dogs , regeneration in axolotls and the genetics of mammals that thrive in extreme environments.…