All Patterns Great and Small

Researchers uncover the origins of creatures’ stripes and spots

How the leopard got its spots and the zebra its stripes might not be just-so stories much longer. Biologists are beginning to pinpoint the molecular mechanisms animals use to deck themselves out with colorful swirls, stripes, spots and dots.

PATTERNS GREAT AND SMALL Biologists probe the molecular mechanisms underlying animals’ array of stripes and spots.