New Framework for Understanding Organismal Metabolism

A new paper titled "The untapped power of a general theory of organismal metabolism" by Marko Jusup and Michael R. Kearney presents a framework for understanding how living organisms manage matter, energy, and entropy. The authors propose that a comprehensive theory of organismal metabolism can be quantified through these three aspects, emphasizing the flow of energy between organisms and their environments.

The paper introduces the 'Dynamic Energy Budget' (DEB) theory, which conceptualizes organisms as systems of macrochemical reactions. These reactions utilize energy to convert food into structured biomass and bioproducts while generating entropy. The authors argue that this conceptualization is grounded in thermodynamic principles and is capable of explaining fundamental ecological and physiological phenomena, including the three-quarter power scaling of metabolism.

Furthermore, the study highlights the importance of categorizing biomass into distinct pools with regulated dynamics based on surface area-volume relationships. This approach allows for a better understanding of metabolic interactions and transitions between unicellular and multicellular organisms.

The authors assert that formal theoretical frameworks derived from this theory can clarify the constraints imposed by natural laws, leading to improved research hypotheses and reducing errors in reasoning. This work may have significant implications for ecological and evolutionary biology, providing a more robust understanding of metabolic processes across different life forms.

The full paper can be accessed at arXiv:2408.13998.