‘Bottom-up fabrication’, which exploits the intrinsic properties of atoms and molecules to direct their self-organization, is widely used to make relatively simple nanostructures. A key goal for this ...

Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland features around 40,000 exposed polygonal columns of basalt in perfect horizontal sections. Chris Hill/Photodisc via Getty Images The reason patterns often appear ...

The reason patterns often appear in nature is simple: The same basic physical or chemical processes occur in many patterned substances and organisms as they form. Whether in plants and animals or ...

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like ...

Nature is rich in structure, which defines the properties not only of the tiniest pieces of matter, but of galaxies and the universe itself. That structure explains both the sound of music, and what ...

What happens if you cross a fish that has white spots on a black body with another fish that has black spots on a white body? You might think that you’d get a fish with a single uniform colour, or one ...

Dear Reader: In my last blog post, I began answering a reader who wondered why so many of her relationships were unsuccessful, from a marriage to an emotionally abusive husband to her brother’s ...

The most obvious feature you'll see is large scale. Florals will be larger than life. Geometrics will be grand. Contrast in color will be definitive. Whatever the pattern, you can count on it being ...

Northmodern 2016: Dutch designer David Derksen's collection of wall lamps feature perforated discs that can be turned to reveal a shifting moiré effect (+ slideshow). The Moiré lights are a ...