Patterns in Nature: Why the Natural World Looks the Way It Does Philip Ball. Univ. of Chicago, $35 (288p) ISBN 978-0-226-33242-0 ...

Microscopic claw hairs help hermit crabs sense threats and make quick decisions, revealing a link between anatomy and ...

Scientists used patterned plastic surfaces to trick bacteria into halting their own spread. These designs may prevent ...

We've already seen antibacterial surfaces that kill microbes on contact, but scientists in the UK have recently gone a ...

Nature is a great architect, and the vascular network - or veins - of a leaf are key to its structure. Mathematical physicists at Rockefeller University use fluorescent dye and time lapse ...

Can a reptile compute? In one species of lizard, Timon lepidus, the colour and pattern of its scales evolve in a manner akin to a discrete rule-based computation called a cellular automaton. See ...

His beautiful coffee table book, Patterns in Nature: Why The Natural World Looks The Way It Does (University of Chicago Press, 2017), takes a fascinating and in-depth look into why and how natural ...

Indeed, the patterns remained unchanged at room temperature. But at a slightly elevated temperature of 37°C (98°F), the domains began to move back and forth erratically, displacing each other.

Patterns of microscopic discs, rings or letters can be added to microrobots or stretchy electronics with a dissolved sugar mixture. By Karmela Padavic-Callaghan.