  Recent developments are reviewed in the scaling theory of phase-coherent
conduction through a disordered wire. The Dorokhov-Mello-Pereyra-Kumar equation
for the distribution of transmission eigenvalues has been solved exactly, in
the absence of time-reversal symmetry. Comparison with the previous prediction
of random-matrix theory shows that this prediction was highly accurate --- but
not exact: The repulsion of the smallest eigenvalues was overestimated by a
factor of two. This factor of two resolves several disturbing discrepancies
between random-matrix theory and microscopic calculations, notably in the
magnitude of the universal conductance fluctuations in the metallic regime, and
in the width of the log-normal conductance distribution in the insulating
regime. ***To be published as a "Brief Review" in Modern Physics Letters B.****
