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As we enter our teenage years, many of us feel like life is just getting started. But for dogs, celebrating a ‘teen’ birthday is a sign of old age, entering a phase when things start slowing down.

Listener Sue is besotted with her beloved corgi Copper John, and wants to know why our furry companions never live as long as us.

We investigate what accounts for the huge differences in lifespans across animal species. From flies that live 24 hours to sharks who can survive for 500 years, what are the factors that set the ticking on our biological clocks? Central to this field is the idea of ‘live fast, die young’, with some animals burning more quickly through their ‘life fuel’. But is this rate set in stone?

Presented by Anand Jagatia