FROM SNOWFLAKE FORMATION TO GROWTH OF BACTERIAL COLONIES .1. DIFFUSIVE PATTERNING IN AZOIC SYSTEMS

Many phenomena display the emergence of patterns during diffusive grow th, ranging from the growth of snowflakes to the aggregation of a soot particle, from oil recovery by fluid injection to solidification of m etals and from the formation of a coral reef to cell differentiation d uring embryonic development. Is the diversity of patterns found in Nat ure a result of different causes and effects, or is there a unifying p icture in which they all share the same underlying principles? Only du ring the past decade has a satisfying answer started to evolve. These exciting new developments in the understanding of form determination i n Nature offer the promise that a unified theoretical framework is at hand, one that would also include processes in living systems. This re view is an effort to make these developments accessible to researchers in various related fields, so that together we may begin to link the dispersed fragments of knowledge into a coherent picture of growth pro cesses.