Three is more, and different. 2-component mass-conserving reaction-diffusion: coarsens forever. 3-component: maps onto a new active field theory (Active Model B−), forms dots, stripes, foams. arxiv.org/abs/2605.15903 #activematter #patternformation

Two physically very different systems. The same patterns in space. A coincidence? No — a duality. New paper with my PhD student Daniel Zhou: arxiv.org/abs/2605.15158 #ActiveMatter #SoftMatter #PatternFormation

I think we’ve been misunderstanding *where* real structure comes from. Across physics, math, and complex systems, the most stable, transferable patterns don’t come from the middle of things — they show up at the edges. Right at the limits. The breaking points. The boundaries of what’s allowed. This note formalizes that idea. It introduces **Constraint Canonicalization (H45)** — a simple but powerful principle: when constraints tighten enough, freedom collapses, and only a small number of robust forms can survive. That’s when systems stop being arbitrary and start becoming *intelligible*. Not because of symmetry, not because of design — but because alternatives are no longer possible. The work also introduces a practical way to *measure* this effect (how “canonical” a system has become), and explains why other results — like Boundary Algebra and the appearance of special constants at critical thresholds — only make sense *after* this collapse happens. If you’ve ever wondered why the same structures keep reappearing in wildly different domains, this might be the missing layer. Here’s the full note: gist.github.com/jacksonjp031… #BoundaryConditions #Emergence #ComplexSystems #Criticality #Constraints #PatternFormation #PhilosophyOfScience #NonlinearDynamics #SystemsThinking #MathPhysics

Spot–Ladder Selection of Dislocation Patterns in #MetalFatigue ✏️ Hiroyuki Shima, Yoshitaka Umeno and Takashi Sumigawa 🔗 brnw.ch/21wYJN7 Viewed: 2258; Cited: 3 #mdpisymmetry #patternformation @yamanashi_univ @UTokyo_News @univkyoto @ComSciMath_Mdpi

Across biology, physics, and information systems, the boundary rules are the same because the field that shapes them is the same. In foams, membranes, tissues, neural sheets, and even quantum fluids, the interface evolves according to a handful of geometric laws, Plateau angles, von Neumann growth, and splitting transitions. These laws are not emergent accidents; they are expressions of a deeper non-equilibrium torsional field that organizes structure from atoms to cells to cognition. The new Nature Physics paper gives the biological example. Bridge Paper 2 gives the unified principle. @NaturePhysics @PhysOfLifeLMU @maxplanckpress @SimonsFdn #PatternFormation #Biophysics #ActiveMatter #NonEquilibrium #ComplexSystems

1/ Our new preprint: Noise-driven morphogenesis independent of transcriptional regulatory programs. #DevBio #Morphogenesis #PatternFormation #GeneRegulation Details below…

Latest work from the group: #FEM @COMSOL implementation & analysis of #PDE model for Directed Cell Migration #DCM Preprint: doi.org/10.1101/2025.07.24.6… Tweetorial: bsky.app/profile/iberd.bsky.… #DevBio #PatternFormation #CellMigration #Morphogenesis #ComputationalBiology

Wonderful work on a system w/some/much of the embryo complexity but is simple enough to allow exploration of details & learn something from the work. Love the development of #NewMeasurements. Much insight and emergence of important questions @ #PatternFormation #Gastruloid

A creative use of the main features of #gastruloids to explore some important issues of #DevBio. An experimental tour de Force with some really interesting results and questions. We learn from models! #Heterogeneities #PatternFormation #Embryos #SCBEMs.

Happy Birthday Alan Turing! Read The Turing heritage for plant biology: all spots and stripes? published in @qpb_journal - cup.org/4jTDDbS By Eric Siero & Eva E. Deinum #PatternFormation #Phyllotaxis #RhoOfPlants

I’ve been modeling pattern formation across multi-scales, and what’s striking is how entropy doesn’t just dissolve order — it shapes it. In my simulations, spirals and helices emerge not in spite of entropy, but because of it, as energy flows through constrained systems. It’s like the universe has a built-in preference for symmetry — encoded in the way it processes information. #UnifiedPhysics #PatternFormation #Morphogenesis #SpiralDynamics #Entropy #FractalIntelligence #Consciousness #MoreHumanAndHumanProject

Extremely interesting/important experiments by E Wieschaus. Virtuoso genetics reveals that #Drosophila, most deterministically patterned model organism, has #SelfOrganization at its heart youtube.com/watch?v=jBGljdB0… Looking forward to the paper #PatternFormation #Embryos #MustWatch

Nice work on Xenopus #gastruloids shorturl.at/PTaB2 @Mayor_lab showing mechanical-chemical interactions in #PatternFormation. Good to see increasing evidence for #Wnt/beta-catenin signalling as a mechanotransducer #NotInTheGenes

How the zebra got its stripes: Curvature-dependent diffusion orients Turing patterns on three-dimensional surfaces, Michael F. Staddon #PatternFormation #Biophysics @mpi_pks @mpicbg go.aps.org/4dKMFFs Featured in @PhysicsMagazine [go.aps.org/4ebnuvz]

bloemetjes / 00 bonsai #branch #bloemetjes #generativeart #artwork #geometric #minimalsurface #abstract #sacredgeometry #algorithm #naturepatterns #geometricshapes #life #mathart #scienceart #patternformation #topology #topologicalgeometry #nature #art #design #science

Just wrapped up an inspiring interdisciplinary conference on #CollectiveBehavior & #PatternFormation 🇫🇷 ! Amazing talks & courses on patterns in Dev Bio & Micro-to-Macro modeling from Sara Merino, Marie Manceau, Pierre-François Lenne, Thomas Lepoutre…#CIRM #Marseille

Peak effect and dynamics of stripe- and pattern-forming systems on a periodic one-dimensional substrate, C. Reichhardt and C. J. O. Reichhardt #PatternFormation #DynamicalPhaseTransitions go.aps.org/4bwQtsQ

Zampetaki et al. show that majority of dynamics patterns seen in large #zebrafish groups can be performed by minimal group of three fish #Pattern #Patternformation #GettingApplied nature.com/articles/s41467-0…

Numerical study of the drift of scroll waves by optical feedback in cardiac tissue, Yuan-Xun Xia, Ling-Hao Xie, Yin-Jie He, Jun-Ting Pan, Alexander V. Panfilov, and Hong Zhang #PatternFormation #NonlinearDynamics go.aps.org/3Tjmmic

Effect of excitability on partially pinned scroll waves in excitable chemical media, Kritsana Khaothong, Jarin Osaklung, Malee Sutthiopad, Jiraporn Luengviriya, Kenneth Showalter, and Chaiya Luengviriya #NonlinearDynamics #PatternFormation go.aps.org/3FLQfjb