Abstract
Two theories, which I shall call the ‘rate of living’ and the ‘threshold’ theories, have been suggested to explain the fact that poikilothermous animals live longer at low than at high temperatures. In this communication these theories are explained, and an experiment described which decisively contradicts the rate of living theory.
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References
Pearl, R., The Rate of Living (London, 1928).
Shaw, R. F., and Bercaw, B. L., Nature, 196, 454 (1962).
Maynard Smith, J., J. Exp. Biol., 35, 832 (1958).
Clarke, J. M., and Maynard Smith, J., Nature, 190, 1027 (1961).
Clarke, J. M., and Maynard Smith, J., J. Exp. Biol., 38, 679 (1961).
Strehler, B. L., Time, Cells and Aging (New York, 1962).
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SMITH, J. Temperature and the Rate of Ageing in Poikilotherms. Nature 199, 400–402 (1963). https://doi.org/10.1038/199400a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/199400a0
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