Focus on Pattern Formation

Pattern Formation: A Focus on Notch in Butterfly Eyespots

New observations of early and dynamic expression of Notch in developing lepidopteran wings suggests that this signalling pathway may function in defining the central focus that will specify the butterfly eyespot colour pattern.

Pattern formation on large domains

Pattern formation: Wingless on the move

Wingless is a key morphogen in Drosophila. Although it is evident that Wingless acts at a distance from its site of synthesis, there is considerable debate about how the protein travels across a field of cells. Recent studies have provided important new insights into this process, though the issue is still far from being resolved.

Pattern formation on carbon nanotube surfaces.

Calculations of fluorine binding and migration on carbon nanotube surfaces show that fluorine forms varying surface superlattices at increasing temperatures. The ordering transition is controlled by the surface migration barrier for fluorine atoms to pass through next neighbor sites on the nanotube, explaining the transition from semi-ionic low coverage to covalent high coverage fluorination ob...

Switching Perspectives on Pattern Formation in Biology

As they move around, grow, develop, and generally go about their lives, living systems constantly create intricate patterns, ranging from a zebra’s stripes to the complex morphologies of bacterial colonies. Scientists have wondered how organisms can generate these patterns—and, moreover, do so reliably and reproducibly—for almost as long as biology has been studied. At least since Turing’s clas...