Before revision:  At small N_0, the growth rate \lambda is roughly constant and displays small sample-to-sample variability. Upon increasing N_0, \lambda increasesslowly together with fluctuations. Finally, after peaking at an intermediate N_0, it gets smaller and more homogeneous across cultures as the inoculum density converges to the carrying capacity of the medium. A minimal, deterministic, population-based mathematical modelexplains the observed qualitative features assuming (in agreement with data) the presence of a weak positive correlation between cell density and proliferation rate .
After revision:  At small N_0, the growth process is however unclear. Here, we identify a theoretical framework that captures how the information encoded in the initial density of cancer cell populations impacts their growth profile. By following the growth of hundreds of populations of cancer cells, we found that the time they need to adapt to the environment decreases as the initial cell density increases .