The same amino acid can be encoded by anywhere from one to six different strings of letters in the genetic code.
Andrzej Wojcicki/Science Photo Library via Getty Images
Many of the amino acids that make up proteins are encoded by genetic material in more than one way. An information theorist explains how principles of nature may account for this variance.
Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland features around 40,000 exposed polygonal columns of basalt in perfect horizontal sections.
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What do earthquakes, wealthy Italian families and your circulatory system have in common? Scientists use fractals, self-similarity and power laws to translate from local to global scales.
A cross section of a fractal pattern, created by a laser in the Wits Structured Light Laboratory.
Wits University
Fractals are patterns that repeat at increasingly fine magnifications. They turn up in the natural world and in artists’ work. Research suggests they contribute to making something aesthetically appealing.
What starts as a flap of wings can end – metaphorically – in a hurricane.
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Clouds are not spheres, mountains are not cones … Nature exhibits not simply a higher degree but an altogether different level of complexity. - Benoît Mandelbröt, The Fractal Geometry of Nature Chaos (n…