Species' longevity depends on brain cell numbers
Thursday, November 8, 2018 - 11:40
in Biology & Nature
Scientists have thought that the main determinant of maximal longevity in warm-blooded animals -- which varies from as little as 2 to as many as 211 years -- is a species' metabolic rate, which is inversely related to body size. It follows that at 2 years of life, small animals with high metabolic rates are already old, but large animals with low metabolic rates are still young.