From ancestry to aging, the mysteries that fascinate pet owners are the same ones that scientists are working to answer.
Many community scientists join Darwin’s Ark for personal reasons. They might want to better understand a beloved pet’s illness, an unusual behavior, or how their pet experiences the world. But when we analyzed the hundreds of questions submitted through the “What would you like to learn?” feature in Darwin’s Ark Laboratories, we found that these individual stories converged on some of the same fundamental questions:
How did today’s pets evolve from their wild ancestors?
How do genetics, the environment, and life experiences influence our pets’ traits?
How do pets think and communicate?
Why do our pets get sick?
How can Darwin’s Ark’s research improve pet and human health?
Although these questions ask about everything from evolution to animal behavior to cancer genetics, they all point to a common curiosity: to understand why our pets are the way they are.
What research questions are you interested in? Head to your Laboratory to submit your burning questions through our "What would you like to learn?" feature.
Usually, researchers ask questions through surveys and community scientists provide the data. But the “What would you like to learn?” feature flips that conversation around and gives community scientists the opportunity to ask researchers questions in return. As it turns out, the Venn Diagram of pet science mysteries that fascinate community scientists and professional scientists is practically a perfect circle.
The questions that matter most to pet owners are the same questions driving groundbreaking research. Answering these questions takes years of work by geneticists, evolutionary biologists, neuroscientists, and veterinary scientists. At Darwin’s Ark, that shared curiosity doesn’t just deepen our connection with our pets—it helps drive discoveries that improve animal health and expand our understanding of their world.
“Where did my pet come from?”
Are there any genetic traits that can shed light on how cats were domesticated?
Why are some breeds more prone to certain genetic disorders?
Some of the biggest questions from our community focus on evolution: how did wildcats and wolves become the cats and dogs that share our homes today?
Your pet’s DNA can help answer this question. Scientists sequence the genomes of pets from different breeds and geographic regions to reconstruct their shared history and trace how animal populations changed over time. This research can reveal where today’s pets came from, when and how they spread across the globe, and how they adapted to new niches living alongside humans.
For cats, much of that evolutionary story is still being excavated—literally. Recent genetic and archaeological evidence suggests that domestic cats may have reached Europe only about 2,000 years ago, thousands of years later than previously thought. Because cats have historically received far less scientific attention than dogs, new discoveries can quickly reshape our understanding of their evolution and domestication.
Early DNA sequencing results from Darwin’s Cats show that, unlike dogs, most cats in the United States tend to cluster genetically by geography rather than by breed. In other words, two cats born in the same geographic region are typically more genetically similar than two cats born on opposite sides of the country. Participants in Darwin’s Cats sequencing research will soon begin receiving ancestry reports that explore both breed and regional ancestry, offering a new window into their cats’ past.
As Darwin’s Ark expands its ancestry reference panels for both cats and dogs, researchers also will be able to investigate behavioral and health traits in even greater detail. Every new participant strengthens our understanding of pet evolution and ancestry.
How much does behavior vary among dogs of the same breed?
Are orange cats really more gregarious than other cats?
Why is my dog more anxious than other dogs from similar or worse circumstances?
No two pets are exactly alike. Even animals of the same breed can differ dramatically in their behavior and health. Understanding how genetics, life experiences, and the environment shape those differences is one of the central questions in animal science.
Darwin’s Ark tackles this question by combining two powerful sources of data: detailed owner observations and whole-genome sequencing.
Pet owners know their animals better than anyone else. Through surveys, thousands of community scientists contribute valuable observations about their pets’ appearance, behavior, lifestyle, and health history. Together, these responses reveal population-wide patterns that would be impossible to detect in smaller studies. Scientists then analyze those survey responses alongside DNA sequencing data to find genetic variants associated with specific behaviors, physical characteristics, or health conditions.
However, genes tell only part of a pet’s story. Many factors contribute to an individual’s risk of traits or diseases, including diet, home environment, or lifestyle.
Take arthritis as an example. While age is a well-known risk factor, researchers are also interested in understanding how genetic and environmental factors influence a pet’s likelihood of developing the condition. Identifying those factors could improve disease prediction, inform the development of targeted treatments, or help pet owners make home environment modifications that keep pets healthier for longer.
Understanding these complex relationships requires data on a scale that few research programs can achieve. By combining thousands of survey responses with whole-genome sequencing, Darwin's Ark is harnessing the power of community science to help researchers better understand how genetics and environment shape the lives of pets.
Have you taken these surveys?Log in to your Laboratory to submit surveys that capture all of your pet's quirks.
“What is my pet thinking?”
My pet learns new skills quickly and can perform tasks like opening drawers…is this because he’s bored or just inquisitive?
How do cats send and receive complex communications like instructions or desires?
Does my dog see me as another dog?
Questions like these reflect a shared curiosity about how pets experience the world. Because we can’t ask our pets what they’re thinking, scientists study animal behavior as a window into their mental experiences. Some scientists study animal behavior from an evolutionary perspective to examine how animals absorb information and process it to survive and reproduce. Other scientists study animal behavior with a psychological perspective to learn how animals perceive their surroundings, communicate their needs, and form social bonds with humans and other animals. Cognitive ethology is an interdisciplinary approach that blends both perspectives to explore animal cognition within real-world contexts.
Darwin’s Ark investigates these questions through detailed behavioral surveys and focused research projects like the Wolf-Dog Hybrid Project, which explores how genetics influences differences in social behavior among wolves and dogs. Survey responses at scale also help researchers identify broader patterns in communication, sociability, learning, and problem-solving. Participants, in turn, receive personality profiles that help them better understand their own dogs and cats.
Survey questions often encourage owners to notice behaviors they might otherwise overlook. While we may never know exactly what our pets are thinking, those everyday observations help researchers understand how animals perceive, interact with, and navigate the world around them.
What genes are linked to kidney disease or environmental allergies?
What genetic variants are linked to pets who live exceptionally long lives?
I have had three cats die of small cell lymphoma in the past six years—why? Is it related to something in their diet or environment?
Why do some pets develop diseases while others remain healthy? Is the answer written in their DNA, shaped by their environment, or the cumulative impact of both?
These questions are also among the biggest challenges in veterinary medicine. Many common health conditions—including cancer, arthritis, and allergies—are influenced by hundreds or thousands of genetic variants interacting with a lifetime of environmental exposures.
Untangling these complex interactions requires data from thousands of pets. Community science provides the scale needed to uncover subtle genetic risk factors and understand how genes and environment interact to influence disease.
That work is already underway. Projects like the Darwin’s Dogs Cancer Project use comparative genomics to uncover genetic mechanisms that may influence cancer development in both canine and human patients. More targeted efforts, like the Darwin’s Cats urinary health survey, collect detailed health and environmental information from many cats to identify genetic or environmental drivers of common health conditions. Every survey response helps researchers better understand why some pets get sick and how we can develop better treatments and preventive care to help more pets thrive.
“How can community science improve pet and human health?”
What can I do to prevent future health issues in my pet?
How does information about my dog help other dogs?
How can I contribute to research that supports longevity and higher quality of life in aging pets?
Every question captured through the “What would you like to learn?” feature leads to the same goal: helping pets live longer, healthier, happier lives.
The data collected through Darwin’s Ark doesn’t stay within our organization. Through research collaborations with scientists, veterinarians, and industry partners like Hill’s Pet Nutrition, our data helps accelerate discoveries in genetics, behavior, and veterinary medicine. Because Darwin’s Ark follows an open science model, researchers around the world can use our resources to investigate new questions, extending the impact of every survey and DNA sample.
This collaborative approach also allows researchers to apply Darwin’s Ark data to broader applications, such as human medicine. Dogs and cats can develop many of the same diseases as humans, present many of the same symptoms, and are often treated with similar medications.That makes companion animals powerful partners for understanding disease.
Darwin’s Ark’s research has contributed to discoveries linking canine and human health, including genetic drivers of bone cancer and obsessive-compulsive disorder. While our primary mission is to advance the health and well-being of dogs and cats, the discoveries that we make along the way can also inform human medicine.
Community science transforms individual curiosity into collective discovery. Every question that a pet owner asks—whether it’s about ancestry, behavior, disease, or aging—becomes part of a larger effort to better understand the animals that share our lives. That collective curiosity is building a happier, healthier future for pets everywhere.
Are you a researcher interested in advancing the well-being of pets and their people?Submit a Darwin's Ark collaboration request to request data access and explore opportunities to collaborate with our researchers.
