SCIENCE

Total 17 Posts

5 Questions with Ausra Milano, Embark Research Scientist

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be an Embark scientist? When your dog’s Embark swab goes to the lab to be studied, there is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes. Ausra Milano is a research scientist who makes sure Embark’s DNA swabs are processed...

What’s Your Dog’s Holiday Routine?

The holidays feel like they were tailor-made for dogs: lots of interesting new smells around the house, new friends coming to visit, and all the delicious food you can drool over.We surveyed over 70,000 dogs to get an idea of how they might act during holiday get togethers and to...

Mendelian Inheritance Explained

All living things inherit their traits from their parents, whether it’s a person’s height, a dog’s coat type, or a flower’s petal color. Traits aren’t copied with 100% accuracy from parent to offspring, though. Since traits are inherited from both parents, all sorts of mixing and matching can occur on...

Beyond Dog DNA Tests: What Breeders Should Know About Complex Genetics

Dog breeders often ask, why are the risks for some health conditions difficult to detect with genetic testing? The short answer is: genetics can be simple or complex—scientific terms that mainly refer to patterns of inheritance or transmission of a disease-causing mutation. Some health issues currently have a DNA test...

Can Dogs See Color?

Have you ever wondered if your dog can truly see all the colors we can? We’re sure you’ve heard it before, the idea that they might only see in black and white? This is merely an oft-repeated myth according to studies done by Dr. Jay Neitz, professor at the University...

Ins and Outs of Microarray-Based Dog DNA Testing

Hi everyone! Erin, Embark’s Senior Veterinary Geneticist, here. As more people have been choosing Embark for their genetic testing needs, I’ve been receiving quite a few questions about our technology -- what is “DNA microarray technology?” “Is it proprietary?” “How do you know it’s accurate?” “How is it different from...

How DNA Genotyping Works

Occasionally, we get questions from customers curious about how their dog’s DNA is processed into the genotype data that we analyze to understand breed ancestry and health risks. Once we receive your dog’s cheek swab, the DNA contained in the sample is copied many times in a process called amplification....

Why Mixed Breed Siblings May Not Look Exactly Alike

“Are these dogs really siblings? They look nothing alike.”  This is a common question people have after using our Relative Finder. After you’ve Embarked your pup, there is a chance that you’ll come across dogs who are very closely related to yours, but look very different.  We’ve written previously about...

Embark Discovers Why Dogs Have Blue Eyes

At Embark, we are working to end preventable disease in dogs. In October 2018, we proudly announced the first step along that path to discovery: our first published scientific research! Embark scientists discovered why dogs have blue eyes. The genetics behind blue eyes in dogs In short, we discovered a...

Insight into the Best Dog Food for Allergies

If you are looking for a treatment option for your dog’s allergies, you have come to the right place! A first step may be to check out the best dog food for allergies. Additionally, we have listed some home remedies for allergies and some types of allergy medicine for dogs...

Why Human & Dog Siblings Have Different DNA

My Italian grandmother and her brother recently tested their DNA with the same company and got very different results. Since I work for a startup that makes dog DNA tests, they turned to me for answers. “One of us is not from the milkman, Ashley, how did this happen?” my...

A Tail of Two Breeds: How Dog DNA Diverges Over Time

At Embark, we often receive questions like this one: "How can you differentiate ancestry between closely related breeds?" For example, American Bulldogs and modern English Bulldogs are the descendants of working English Bulldogs that made their way to America with working-class immigrants. So, how can we tell the difference between...