A bacterium has evolved an enzyme that assembles in a fractal structure, a mathematical pattern that repeats itself at smaller scales. Fractal patterns are found throughout nature on large, ...

In most vertebrates, skin appendages such as hair, feathers, or scales originate from placodes—small, specialized skin regions whose spatial organization is controlled by well-conserved genetic ...

Now, in a new study, Milinkovitch and his team reported that the polygonal head scales form due to the growth and compression of skin, which creates a self-organizing pattern of folds. 2 These ...

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