Related papers: Entropy and its relationship to allometry
Metabolic scaling is one of the most important patterns in biology. Theory explaining the 3/4-power size-scaling of biological metabolic rate does not predict the non-linear scaling observed for smaller life forms. Here we present a new…
One of the most fundamental rules in metabolic ecology is the allometric equation, which is a power-law scaling that describes the connection between body measurements and body size. The biological dynamics of this essentially empirical…
The origin of allometric scaling patterns that are multiples of 1/4 has long fascinated biologists. While not universal, scaling relationships with exponents that are close to multiples of 1/4 are common and have been described in all major…
The origin of allometric scaling of metabolic rate is a long-standing question in biology. Several models have been proposed for explaining the origin; however, they have advantages and disadvantages. In particular, previous models only…
Allometric scaling is one of the most pervasive laws in biology. Its origin, however, is still a matter of dispute. Recent studies have established that maximum metabolic rate scales with an exponent larger than that found for basal…
This paper investigates the role of size in biological organisms. More specifically, how the energy demand, expressed by the metabolic rate, changes according to the mass of an organism. Empirical evidence suggests a power-law relation…
We examine the scaling law $B \propto M^{\alpha}$ which connects organismal metabolic rate $B$ with organismal mass $M$, where $\alpha$ is commonly held to be 3/4. Since simple dimensional analysis suggests $\alpha=2/3$, we consider this to…
Living systems continuously transform matter and energy through the chemical processes that constitute their metabolism. The overall metabolic rate of an organism correlates positively with its body mass, however both the exact scaling…
A general simple theory for the interspecific allometric scaling is developed in the $d+1$-dimensional space ($d$ biological lengths and a physiological time) of metabolic states of organisms. It is assumed that natural selection shaped the…
The origin and shape of metabolic scaling has been controversial since Kleiber found that basal metabolic rate of animals seemed to vary as a power law of their body mass with exponent 3/4, instead of 2/3, as a surface-to-volume argument…
The quarter power allometric scaling of mammalian metabolic rate is largely regarded as a universal law of biology. However, it is well known that cell cultures do not obey this law. The current thinking is that were in-vitro cultures to…
The prevailing theory for metabolic scaling is based on area-preserved, space-filling fractal vascular networks. However, it's known both theoretically and experimentally that animals' vascular systems obey Murray's cubic branching law.…
One of the major characteristics of living organisms is metabolic rate, which is the amount of energy produced per unit of time. When the mass of organisms increases, the metabolic rate also increases (usually as a power function of mass),…
Life has a special status, it even has its own science: biology. In many ways, the logic of life seems to differ from that of atoms, molecules, planets, or any other `inanimate object'. However, life is increasingly measured using…
Metabolism of living organisms is a foundation of life. The metabolic rate (energy production per unit time) increases slower than organisms' mass. When this phenomenon is considered across different species, it is called interspecific…
We extend a previously theory for the interspecific allometric scaling developed in a $d+1$-dimensional space of metabolic states. The time, which is characteristic of all biological processes, is included as an extra dimension to $d$…
A central debate in biology has been the allometric scaling of metabolic rate. Kleiber's observation that animals' basal metabolic rate scales to the 3/4-power of body mass (Kleiber's rule) has been the prevailing hypothesis in the last…
We quantify the amount of regulation required to control growth in living cells by a Maximum Entropy approach to the space of underlying metabolic states described by genome-scale models. Results obtained for E. coli and human cells are…
Production of energy is a foundation of life. Metabolic rate of organisms (amount of energy produced per unit time) generally increases slower than organisms' mass, which has important implications for life organization. This phenomenon,…
Brain is one of the most energy demanding organs in mammals, and its total metabolic rate scales with brain volume raised to a power of around 5/6. This value is significantly higher than the more common exponent 3/4 relating whole body…