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Turing Equation Explains how Leopard Spots Develop

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the spotty-research dept.

BilZ0r writes "A slight modification of an equation developed by Alan Turing in 1952 has been used to show how the patterns of big cats change from kitten to adult markings. Sy-Sang Liaw of National Chung-Hsing University in Taichung, Taiwan, and colleagues set out to replicate these patterns using Turing's equations. But they found they had to do more than just tweak the parameters of the reaction-diffusion equation. Instead they had to assume two stages of spot growth with different rules: the first to get the baby cats their spots, and the second to create the final configurations. It took them a year to find a final solution."

3 of 109 comments (clear)

  1. The point is, you never know. by Elemenope · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Some researchers dicking around with orange molds accidentally discovered this little thing called PENICLLIN. Some Swiss mountain hiker got irritated with little seeds that kept sticking to his clothes, which upon further inspection led to the invention of VELCRO.

    On the other hand, researchers trying to solve a critical rubber shortage during World War II came up with an earth-shattering invention: SILLY PUTTY.

    Point is, you just never know. ;)

    --
    All the techniques ever used to make men moral have been themselves thoroughly immoral... (Nietzsche)
  2. Re:Leopard spots, snail shells, and Leonardo of Pi by Planesdragon · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Here we witness the micro through the macro, through all scales of physical dimension, in an interplay of force, energy and motion, with the final result happening both all at once and forever spread over time. Incredible.

    No, not really."

    If you find something as mundane as a mathematical model of how spots deveop on leopards to be "incredible", I think the wonder is all in you and not in the thing itself. Setting aside the wonder that is life itself, leopard spots are pretty boring -- roughly the equivalent to modeling how freckles develop on redheads.

  3. Re:Extracting Sunlight from Cucumbers by Pseudonym · · Score: 4, Insightful

    And if you're an animation TD who has been assigned the task of creating a huge school of fish, each one of which should look different and yet still look like the right kind of fish, you'll be glad that someone has studied the problem of how to model animal markings.

    No, this is not hypothetical. It's real, and it's done today.

    --
    sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f(q{sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f});