Turing patterns explain shark scale development
By 
Andy Extance2018-11-09T15:34:00
The tooth-like scales on a shark’s skin show signs of reaction-diffusion molecular patterns, like human hair and chicken feathers
The mark made on Earth’s life forms by chemical patterns described by computing pioneer Alan Turing goes so deep it might even be seen in sharks’ strangely tooth-like scales. Gareth Fraser from the University of Florida, in Gainesville, US, and his team have shown that the proteins that control feather shape in chicken embryos may also position the structures known as ‘denticles’ that make up shark skin.