Some patterns arise simply or randomly, but others develop via complex, precise interactions of pattern-generating systems. Their beauty aside, the intricacies of these systems are inspiring the ...

Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland features around 40,000 exposed polygonal columns of basalt in perfect horizontal sections. Chris Hill/Photodisc via Getty Images The reason patterns often appear ...

Stripe patterns are commonly seen in nature—for instance, birds and fish move in coordinated flocks and schools, fingerprints form unique designs, and zebras can be identified by their distinctive ...

Beauty in the living world amazes poets, philosophers and scientists alike. Nobel prize laureate Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard, Director of the Department for Genetics at the Max Planck Institute for ...

Stripes are common in our lives. It’s a pretty basic pattern, and easy to take for granted. As an applied mathematician who studies how patterns form in nature, though, I am wowed by the striped ...

With its black and white fur and fluffy mane, the zebra is one of the most distinctive creatures in the animal kingdom. But how exactly did the zebra get its stripes? Scientists from the University of ...