An innovative algorithm to explore enchanting nature patterns

Mohammed Shaban

Nature has always amazed us with its picturesque artwork. Some of these paintings carry illuminated streaks and dark lines that match the painting "Night of the Stars" by Dutch artist Van Gogh. The lines of the zebrafish are among the most impressive in nature.

Three types of pigment cells in zebrafish embryos move around the skin to settle in different places, forming yellow and blue streaks along the body.

Genetic basis
But scientists have never been able to understand the genetic basis for this subtle harmony of transverse lines. However, a new algorithm developed by scientists from Brown University may be able to understand this.

In their research, which was published recently on February 25 in the journal BNS, scientists were able to determine the different features of the shapes and patterns that make up the zebrafish lines, and then they could test different ideas about how these lines formed.

To understand how these lines form, Bjorn Sandstedt, leader of the research team from Brown University, talks to Physge, "The main goal behind studying zebrafish lines is to understand how early organisms evolve. How genes express themselves to form these shapes and patterns." Virtual ".

"Scientists developed simulation models to help with this, but the drawback was that they were examining a few zebrafish or some of the images from simulations and then looking for similarities and differences. So they wanted to build a more objective robotic model that they could rely on." To understand that.

Various styles of fonts
Zebrafish is one of the best examples of understanding the genetic changes that affect the formation of different patterns. The embryos of these fish are transparent and rapidly evolving, giving researchers the opportunity to get to know the exact evolution of these patterns.

Scientists have been able to identify a number of genetic mutations that change the pigment patterns of zebrafish fish. Some of these mutations change the straightness of these patterns, while others give the fish the shapes of rows instead of lines.

These patterns differ due to changes in the way the pigment cells interact with each other and how they move as they develop. So scientists have developed computer models that can simulate the formation and movement of these cellular patterns, leading to knowledge of the governing foundations of this process.

Algorithmic and nature data
The zebrafish pigment cells form, connecting points in the form of yellow and blue lines along the body. The algorithm evaluates how each pigment cell is related to other cells, and thus can tell whether the cells are part of a linear or point pattern or something else.

The researchers believe that "the beauty of this technique is its ability to count these patterns along the length of fish, from one cell to the entire fish." With such objective measures within reach, researchers can see the dynamics in which these patterns are formed.

On the importance of knowing these patterns, Sandstead adds, this algorithm "allows us to understand things like the extent of straightness or curl of the lines, and the average distance that separates one cell from another. If there are points, we can determine the number of cells in each point, is it round or More elongated. "

"This mechanism contributes to a new and fundamental insight into how genes are expressed in various forms of nature," the researchers add. In addition to that this algorithm is not only applied to zebrafish, as Sandstead explains is "a comprehensive algorithm designed to define the patterns and shapes of any system."