Joao Pedro de Magalhaes, who maintains the rather excellent senescence.info and associated resources for scientists, has been keeping himself busy with an examination of metabolic rate and life span: ''One of the oldest and most popular explanations is the idea that short-lived animals like mice and shrews have high metabolic rates and thus ...

Researchers have found that lowering the body temperature of mice by just 0.5 degrees C extends their lifespan by around 15 percent. This may be because the body burns less fuel when it is at a lower temperature, which results in the production o...

Via Forbes, another study attempting to tease out the mechanisms by which calorie restriction affects metabolism and health: ''Lowering the core body temperature of mice let them live an average of 15 percent longer ... It was known in animals that calorie restriction is associated with reduction of the core body temperature. It was not known if ...