Growth curve (biology)

The observed pattern of bacterial growth is bi-phasic because two different sugars were present, glucose and lactose.

Analysis of the molecular basis for this bi-phasic growth curve led to the discovery of the basic mechanisms that control gene expression.

Cancer research is an area of biology where growth curve analysis plays an important role.

Tumors that grow rapidly are generally more sensitive to the toxic effects that conventional anticancer drugs have on the cancer cells.

Typically, periods of exponential growth are of limited duration due to depletion of some rate-limiting resource.

Figure 1: A bi-phasic bacterial growth curve.
Figure 2. Tumor growth curve.