Aging, Metabolic Rate, and the Differences Between Birds and Mammals

There is a strong association in mammalian species between metabolic rate, size, and life span. When pulling in bird species to compare, however, it is observed that they tend to have higher metabolic rates and longer life spans at a given size. So the question here is what exactly is going on in bird metabolism that allows for this more heated operation of cellular metabolism, necessary to meet the demands of flight, without the consequences to life span observed in mammalian species. The open access paper here is illustrative of research in this part of the comparative biology of aging field. Is there anything in this ongoing work on metabolism and aging that might one day lead to methods of extending mammalian life? Perhaps, perhaps not. Altering the operation of metabolism is a poor second best to repairing the damage that causes aging, but one never knows what might emerge from fundamental research at the end of the day. Mitonuclear communication is at the heart of metabolic regulation, especially in fundamental processes such as cellular respiration. All endothermic organisms have evolved high metabolic rates for increased heat production. However, birds and mammals evolved endothermy independently of each other, and demonstrate some stark differences. Birds live significantly longer lives compared with mammals of similar body size, despite having higher metabolic rates, body temperatures, and blood glucose concentration. The underlying physiological mec...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs