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Science 4 June 1999:
Vol. 284. no. 5420, pp. 1607 - 1609
DOI: 10.1126/science.284.5420.1607
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News Focus

BIOPHYSICS:
New Clues to Why Size Equals Destiny

Dana Mackenzie

Dueling theories aim to explain why larger organisms tend to live longer; both conclude that the physics of nutrient distribution is key. On page 1677, a research team proposes that the so-called quarter-power law--which states that life-span tends to lengthen in proportion to the quarter power of an animal's body weight--derives from the physical constraints of an ideal system for distributing nutrients, whether it's the blood conduits running through our body or the vascular network nourishing a plant. An alternative theory from a second group (Nature, 13 May, p. 130) differs in details but comes to the same conclusion: The constraints on life-span and metabolism lie within an organism and have nothing to do with outward size and shape.

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Resting energy expenditure-fat-free mass relationship: new insights provided by body composition modeling.
Z. Wang, S. Heshka, D. Gallagher, C. N. Boozer, D. P. Kotler, and S. B. Heymsfield (2000)
Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 279, E539-E545
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)