In their report “A general model for the origin of allometric scaling laws in biology” (4 Apr., p. 122), Geoffrey B. West et al. explore the ubiquity of quarter-power scaling relationships in biology. They (p. 122) propose that a common mechanism underlies these laws: Living things are sustained by the transport of materials through linear networks that branch to supply all parts of the organism.
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Carol A. Beuchat (1997) studied this question.
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