Regulation of Numbers in a Population of Dividing Cells

A study is made of the question of how long it is possible to keep within given limits the numbers of a population consisting of identical cells each of which lives for a finite time, makes the decision “to divide into two” or “to die” independently of the others, and makes this decision with some delay in time. “Feedback” consists of the fact that the probability of either decision depends on the state of the population as a whole at the time of the decision (the total number of cells present, their ages, etc.). Results are given of the computer simulation of some “natural” regulating mechanisms of this type.