A mathematical model first proposed by Alan Turing 71 years ago may have finally been confirmed — by chia seeds sprouting in a lab.
The model may explain the chemistry behind how a zebra gets its stripes and why grasses can grow in patches.
Turing was a British mathematician perhaps best known for cracking the German Enigma code during World War II that helped lead to Allied victory over Nazi Germany.
In 1952 he suggested patterns arise in nature due to a chemical reaction between two homogeneous substances, which he described in his one and only published paper(opens in new tab), penned while working at the University of Manchester, U.K. These patterns can be seen across numerous plant and animal species, from a zebra's black-and-white stripes to the ridges on a cactus.
