Science

"Mathematicians have long studied how shapes can fit together to cover surfaces without gaps. However, their typical approach – using shapes with sharp corners and flat faces – is rarely seen in the natural world.

Instead, living organisms use a dazzling array of patterns to form and grow, for instance in muscle tissues. Most strikingly these patterns are characterised by shapes with curved edges, non-flat faces, and few, if any, sharp corners.

Up to now, how nature achieves geometrical complexity using these ’soft shapes’ has eluded mathematical explanation.

The answer... is a new class of mathematical shapes called soft cells. These shapes have a minimal number of sharp corners, and cover space without gaps."

https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2024-09-12-mathematicians-discover-new-universal-class-shapes-explain-complex-biological-forms#:~:text=A%20team%20of%20mathematicians%20from,sea%20shells%20to%20muscle%20cells.