Tessellations aren’t just eye-catching patterns—they can be used to crack complex mathematical problems. By repeatedly ...

Bird beaks come in almost every shape and size—from the straw-like beak of a hummingbird to the slicing, knife-like beak of an eagle. We have found, however, that this incredible diversity is ...

In nature, many things have evolved that differ in size, color and, above all, in shape. While the color or size of an object can be easily described, the description of a shape is more complicated.

No one knows how to find the smallest shape that can cover all other shapes of a certain width. But high school geometry is getting us closer to an answer. “Hey — I’ve got holes in some of my jeans.

Scientists mapping the human body at the cellular level keep running into the same surprise: beneath the apparent chaos of tissues and organs, there is a hidden order that looks a lot like pure ...

In the core of a knitting machine or at the tips of a skilled knitter’s needles, a strand of fiber can be transformed into anything from a delicate scarf to a bulletproof vest. But different knitting ...

Neuroscientists are exploring whether shapes like squares and rectangles — and our ability to recognize them — are part of what makes our species special. Credit...Video by Yoshi Sodeoka Supported by ...