Alan Turing proposed a reaction-diffusion system as a mathematical model for understanding morphogenesis, the process by which organisms develop their shape and form. In this system, two or more chemicals interact and diffuse through a medium, leading to the emergence of spatial patterns. Turing’s model suggests that complex patterns observed in nature, such as the stripes on a zebra or the spots on a leopard, can arise from simple interactions between chemicals undergoing diffusion and reaction. This groundbreaking idea provided insights into the mechanisms underlying biological pattern formation and has since influenced various fields, including developmental biology and theoretical chemistry.
