Pattern Selection: The Importance of “How You Get There”

Abstract

We all developed from an embryo: along the way, many billions of cells are making decisions on how to differentiate, proliferate, or undergo apoptosis. These cells take cues from each other to differentiate into different tissues, organs, and patterns. Pattern formation is one of the most visible forms of decision-making and has been widely studied; for example, in chemotactic pattern formation (1). The seminal work of Turing (2) showed the basic principle that patterns can form in homogeneous tissue through a generic instability in a system that involves at least two interacting chemical species.