Theory 22/Cellular/Cell size
Cell Size Is Production Against Area
The claim
Bacterial cell size is set by the ratio of biosynthetic capacity to surface area, so nutrient-rich conditions increase the ratio and the cell before division.
01Mechanism
Growth adds volume while nutrients enter through the surface; the ratio determines when the surface can no longer supply the volume.
02Prediction
Size should track the ratio across growth rates.
03Refutation
Size tracking nutrient concentration would remove the surface term.