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 ...

There’s a reason fashion designers look to animal prints for inspiration. Creatures have evolved a dizzying array of patterns: stripes, spots, diamonds, chevrons, hexagons and even mazelike designs.

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 ...

Kenya, Amboseli National Park, close up of zebra stripes. Scientists aren’t sure, but one theory, dubbed the “motion dazzle hypothesis,” suggests that high-contrast patterns create an optical illusion ...

Close your eyes—now picture yourself in the warm summer sun in Southern Italy. The sea is glittering and you can smell the refreshing, salty breeze. Sitting in your lounge chair, you’re wrapped in a ...

The zebrafish, a small fresh water fish, owes its name to a striking pattern of blue stripes alternating with golden stripes. Three major pigment cell types, black cells, reflective silvery cells, and ...

There are a few things that we know for certain about the animal kingdom. For instance, bulls always have two horns (except this three-horned cow), puppy tails are found on the animals' rear (except ...