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      The fourth dimension of life: fractal geometry and allometric scaling of organisms.

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          Abstract

          Fractal-like networks effectively endow life with an additional fourth spatial dimension. This is the origin of quarter-power scaling that is so pervasive in biology. Organisms have evolved hierarchical branching networks that terminate in size-invariant units, such as capillaries, leaves, mitochondria, and oxidase molecules. Natural selection has tended to maximize both metabolic capacity, by maximizing the scaling of exchange surface areas, and internal efficiency, by minimizing the scaling of transport distances and times. These design principles are independent of detailed dynamics and explicit models and should apply to virtually all organisms.

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          Author and article information

          Journal
          Science
          Science (New York, N.Y.)
          American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
          0036-8075
          0036-8075
          Jun 04 1999
          : 284
          : 5420
          Affiliations
          [1 ] Theoretical Division, MS B285, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA. gbw@lanl.gov
          Article
          10.1126/science.284.5420.1677
          10356399
          abad4711-03b7-46da-b926-3f843d3e8b22
          History

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