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ABSTRACT An improved method is described for the analysis of data obtained by the technique of labelled mitoses. It is a development of the method described by Barrett (1966) in which theoretical curves are computed on the basis of a model which assumes that the phases G 1 , S and G 2 are described by independent log‐normal distributions; the analysis consists in finding a form of this model which gives a labelled mitoses curve which is the best fit to the available data. This fitting procedure has now been made automatic. No comprehensive indication of the goodness of fit can be given, although in the analysis of over fifty sets of data the method appears to have worked well. A supplementary computer program is described which, on the basis of three separate assumed modes of cell loss, calculates the form of the age distributions and theoretical continuous labelling curves. This allows growth fraction to be calculated in a way which takes account of the distribution of phase durations and the non‐rectangular age distributions of expanding cell populations. It also gives an opportunity to study the implications of continuous labelling data as regards the mode of cell loss. A comparison is made between the present method of labelled mitoses curve analysis and the empirical rules which have often been used.
Steel et al. (Fri,) studied this question.