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The coordination of cell growth, DNA replication and cell division is a long-standing problem in biology. In particular, the mechanisms that ensure size homeostasis and, at the same time, adapt cell growth to the environment have been the subject of intense research. However, the answers were traditionally hindered by limited statistics on single cells. Contemporary experimental techniques overcome this problem, but this progress must be combined with new theoretical tools to approach the data. Focusing on the classic model organism Escherichia coli, I will review the recent developments in the field. In particular, I will show how the integration of quantitative experiments and mathematical models have challenged standard views on the bacterial cell cycle and raised new questions.
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