![]() We have proposed a set of principles based on the observation that almost all life is sustained by hierarchical branching networks, which we assume have invariant terminal units, are space-filling and are optimised by the process of natural selection. The universality and simplicity of these relationships suggest that fundamental universal principles underly much of the coarse-grained generic structure and organisation of living systems. ![]() ![]() Similarly, time-scales (such as lifespans and growth rates) and sizes (such as bacterial genome lengths,tree heights and mitochondrial densities) scale with exponents that are typically simple powers of 1/4. For example, metabolic rate scales as the 3/4-power of mass over 27 orders of magnitude, from molecular and intracellular levels up to the largest organisms. Despite this many of its most fundamental and complex phenomena scale with size in a surprisingly simple fashion. ![]() Life is the most complex physical phenomenon in the Universe, manifesting an extraordinary diversity of form and function over an enormous scale from the largest animals and plants to the smallest microbes and subcellular units. ![]()
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