ALT An illustration of the topics covered in this tutorial. Labeled Sec. II in the upper left corner is classical proteome allocation theory, which introduces the phenomenology of growth laws. Below, Sec. III explores the dependence of the translation elongation rate and ribosomal activity on growth. Section IV further extends the framework by incorporating transcriptional dynamics and traffic theory, while Sec. V to the right includes protein degradation. In the center, Sec. VI examines the mechanistic regulation of ribogenesis in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. In the lower left corner, Section VII illustrates how to model cellular behavior in fluctuating environments. The final three sections on the far right address broader topics beyond the classical theory: density homeostasis and volume-mass coupling (Sec. VIII); the interplay between growth laws and cell-cycle progression (Sec. IX); and the insights gained from a community and ecological perspective (Sec. X).

ALT Cover of PRX Life, Issue 01, March 2026, titled “Adaptation and Learning.” A stylized 3D biological scene shows a web-like cytoskeleton structure wrapping around a cell. The network is made of bead-like filaments in green and blue, with glowing, colorful regions and flowing wave patterns suggesting activity, signaling, and learning within the structure.