In The Second Jungle Book, Rudyard Kipling tells the story of the first tiger, who killed a buck during a time of peace. As punishment, the first elephant commanded the jungle’s trees and creepers to ...

Some patterns arise simply or randomly, but others develop via complex, precise interactions of pattern-generating systems. Their beauty aside, the intricacies of these systems are inspiring the ...

Stripes are common in our lives. It’s a pretty basic pattern, and easy to take for granted. As an applied mathematician who studies how patterns form in nature, though, I am wowed by the striped ...

The zebrafish, a small fresh water fish, owes its name to a striking pattern of blue stripes alternating with golden stripes. Three major pigment cell types, black cells, reflective silvery cells, and ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Sara Tabin is a science contributor writing about animals. Scientists aren’t sure, but one theory, dubbed the “motion dazzle ...

Researchers took a deep dive into embryonic development to tease out the source of the tabby pattern in cats. By James Gorman Folklore is full of stories about the coat patterns of cats: How the tiger ...