Spinning cylinders to recreate nature's patterns

Some of nature's most exquisite patterns; leaves around a plant's stem, scales on a pine cone, and the tail of some viruses, consist of small objects decorating a cylindrical chassis with a specific pattern. Nature's preferred method of building is through self-assembly, the process in which individual components autonomously and spontaneously organize into ordered structures. Taking inspiration from nature, scientists at the Center for Soft and Living Matter, within the Institute for Basic Scie...