Biology

3 breaks

Cells, bodies, evolution and everything that grows.

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Why a smooth embryo grows spots and stripes: Turing's two-chemical patterns A leopard's spots and a zebra's stripes start from a smooth, featureless ball of cells. In 1952 Alan Turing showed how two chemicals that spread at different… Biology4 min read How thousands of fireflies flash in time with no leader: pulse-coupled oscillators On riverbank trees in Southeast Asia, thousands of male fireflies flash together, with no leader and no shared clock. Each insect is just a small timer that… Biology4 min read Ten thousand fireflies, no conductor Once a year in the Great Smoky Mountains, thousands of fireflies flash on and off together, down to a fraction of a second, for hours. No leader calls the… Biology6 min read