Chen Hou (Missouri University)
Abstract. The relationship between energy expenditure and longevity has been a central theme in aging studies. Rate of living theory and oxidative stress theory suggest that longevity is negatively correlated with mass-specific metabolic rate, which is usually positively correlated with animals’ body size. However, empirical studies have yielded controversial results. In this talk, I will focus on two of the long-standing puzzles in the field. First, why across species larger animals live longer, but within a species, e.g. in dogs, smaller breeds have longer lifespan. Second, how food restriction and growth hormone interference extend lifespan without lowering metabolic rate. I argue that the energy tradeoff between biosynthesis and maintenance is the key to explaining these paradoxes, and I will use one single equation, based on first principles of energy conservation and allometric scaling laws, to reconcile these seemingly contradictory phenomena.