Many animals get their external marking—like, feathers, hair or scales-from genetics. But it turns out, the crocodile gets its head patterns differently. Scientists normally explain the spectacular ...

More than 70 years ago, mathematician Alan Turing proposed a mechanism that explained how patterns could emerge from bland uniformity. Scientists are still using his model—and adding new twists—to ...

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 ...

Zebras and tigers have stripes, cheetahs and leopards have spots, and the ocellated lizard (Timon lepidus) boasts a labyrinthine pattern of black-and-green chains of scales. Now researchers from the ...

An optical illusion is a visual phenomenon where the brain misinterprets what the eyes perceive, creating a false or misleading impression of reality. This occurs because the brain processes visual ...

Many animals get their external marking -- such as, feathers, hair or scales-from genetics. But it turns out, the crocodile gets its head patterns differently. (Story aired on ATC on Dec. 11, 202.) ...

We pursue one of the mysteries of the incredible variety of animals that you find in nature. NPR's Jonathan Lambert reports on a study in the journal Nature. JONATHAN LAMBERT, BYLINE: Biologist Michel ...