00:00Animals come in all shapes and sizes, but also pretty much all patterns.
00:08Those patterns might function as camouflage, aid in finding mates, or help them regulate
00:12heat.
00:13But now scientists may have figured out how they form.
00:15The researchers liken the process to one you might see when a bit of ink diffuses in water.
00:20The colors swirl and create somewhat of a pattern, but the difference is that a well-defined
00:24design never emerges.
00:25So the researchers employ the use of a computer simulation, specifically designed to mimic
00:30a process called diffusiophoresis instead.
00:33Diffusiophoresis is the spontaneous motion of colloidal particles, or molecules in a
00:37fluid, rather than a fluid in a fluid or a solid in a fluid like other processes.
00:42And when they conducted their experiments with these defined parameters, they noticed
00:45that not only did patterns emerge, but they were well-defined, just like animal patterns
00:50in nature.
00:51But this isn't all just for curiosity's sake.
00:53Researcher Ankh Gupta writes for The Conversation that skin patches could be produced that can
00:57sense changes and diagnose medical conditions, or monitor a patient's health by detecting
01:02changes in biochemical markers.
01:04Adding that they believe this process may also play an underappreciated role in the
01:08development of infants and tumors.
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