Andrés Escala, an academic at the Department of Astronomy at the University of Chile, has made significant advancements in understanding life on Earth, focusing on 16 mammal species through a mathematical correlation between respiratory cycles and lifespan.
This finding, termed 'The Number of Life,' corresponds to the number of respiratory cycles a mammal undergoes throughout its existence, which is approximately 400 million breaths, a value consistent across the studied species.
Escala states, 'The finding proves that a series of variables influence lifespan through the existence of this number.' He holds a Ph.D. in Astrophysics from Yale University.
He further explains, 'This work demonstrates that several variables, such as body mass, metabolism, and heart rate, are causally connected to longevity.'
For instance, while a cat typically lives twice as long as a rabbit (18 vs 9 years, a 100% difference), both fall within the range of 400 million respiratory cycles (495 vs 429, a 15% difference), indicating a common number across all studied species, from mice to giraffes.
The disparity in measuring lifespan in years versus respiratory cycles becomes more pronounced when considering other animal groups. For example, Galápagos tortoises can live up to 177 years, averaging 280 million cycles, while dogs average 310 million cycles but only live about 10% as long as tortoises. This reinforces the conclusion that respiratory cycles may be the key unit for measuring lifespan.
The study also explores the relationship between respiratory cycles and cellular mutations, suggesting that the respiratory process and its toxic byproducts could be linked to genetic variations contributing to aging.
This discovery may hold significant implications in both basic and applied science. Escala outlines two future research directions: one in applied science to explain natural mortality in farmed fish, and another in basic science to study ecological relationships observed in nature.
The research, published in the latest edition of Scientific Reports, employs an innovative approach to data analysis, contrasting traditional statistical methods. Escala utilized validated mathematical predictions compared to data from the 16 mammal species, successfully explaining all observed trends.