For centuries scientists have tried to understand the growth and development of multicellular organisms. More recently, with the help of mathematical models and computerized simulations, they have discovered algorithmic patterns and models that seem to describe the dynamic processes in which organisms grow, reproduce, and respond to external factors. In this fascinating and beautifully illustrated book, Hans Meinhardt explains and illustrates these structural growth patterns in the case of sea shells. The book delightfully conveys the intuitive appeal and the "touch of magic" in this research. A diskette packaged with the book contains a program that allows the reader to run the simulations on a PC. New patterns can be generated interactively to provide an insight into the process of biological pattern formation.

Inhalt

1 Shell patterns as dynamic systems.- 2 Pattern formation.- 3 Oscillations and travelling waves.- 4 Superposition of stable and periodic patterns.- 5 Meshwork of oblique lines and staggered dots.- 6 Branch initiation by global control.- 7 The big problem: two or more time-dependent patterns.- 8 Triangles.- 9 Parallel lines with tongues.- 10 Shell models in three dimensions.- 11 The computer program.- References.