When a single bacterial cell divides into two during periods of rapid growth, it doesn’t split in half once it reaches a predetermined size. Instead, data has shown, a cell will divide once it has added a certain amount of mass.
The two processes sound similar, but they each carry different risks. Many researchers believed it was a safer bet for the cell if it split once it reached a certain size.
New mathematical modeling from the Dietrich School shows the risks may have been miscalculated, however, because previous calculations have ignored the drivers of cell division at the molecular scale. Their findings were published in the journal Physical Review Letters.