Algorithmic Beauty of Sea Shells (3rd Ed.)
By, Meinhardt, Hans
Publisher: Springer
Class No.: 591.4770113 MEI
Accession No.: 014140
Year: 2006
Pages: xi, 236p.

Of the week: 03rd July. to 09th July., 2006

The patterns on the shells of tropical sea snails are not only compellingly beautiful but also tell a tale of biological development. The decorative patterns are records of their own genesis, which follows laws like those of dune formation or the spread of a flu epidemic. Hans Meinhardt has analyzed the dynamical processes that form these patterns and retraced them faithfully in computer simulations. His book is exciting not only for the astonishing scientific knowledge it reveals but also for its fascinating pictures.

New in the third edition is that many of the simulations are supplied on the accompanying CD-ROM in HTML format. Thus, the highly dynamic behavior of the interactions on which shell patterning is based can be inspected like conventional websites with any browser, also on a Macintosh of Linux system. The animations are given as separate files that also can be integrated, e.g., into a PowerPoint presentation is desired. Also included are animated simulations of models that describe more general problems in the development of higher organisms, e.g., formation of organizing regions, pattern formation in hydra, gene activation, formation of net-like structures, and chemotactic orientation.