Modelling cell generation times by using the tempered stable distribution

We show that the family of tempered stable distributions has considerable potential for modelling cell generation time data. Several real examples illustrate how these distributions can improve on currently assumed models, including the gamma and inverse Gaussian distributions which arise as special cases. Our applications concentrate on the generation times of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells and the yeast "Saccharomyces cerevisiae". Numerical inversion of the Laplace transform of the probability density function provides fast and accurate approximations to the tempered stable density, for which no closed form generally exists. We also show how the asymptotic population growth rate is easily calculated under a tempered stable model. Copyright (c) 2008 Royal Statistical Society.