A database, collecting and classifying tile-like patterns in biology, aims to be a resource and research catalyst. The human eye is drawn to the rhythmic beauty of tiled patterns, which occur abundantly in nature. Jana Ciecierska-Holmes, John Nyakatura and Mason Dean led a project with colleagues, offering a classification of biological tilings—repeated patterns of geometric discrete elements found in nature. Tilings are found across the tree of life, in a wide variety of taxa and at many spatial scales from nanometers to centimeters. The authors distinguish true tiles from well-studied “cellular foams,” which are patterned voids, such as honeycombs. Tile patterns can allow a structure to be flexible and modular. Tilings are found in eyes, armor, egg cases, wings, and even in virus capsid coats, serving a huge range of functions, from optics to water transport to protection. The annotated collection of 100 biological tilings can help researchers answer questions such as: Why do some tile shapes or layouts dominate over others in certain taxonomic groups? Why are bi-directional and regular tilings more favored than unidirectional and irregular tilings? How could biological tilings lead to solutions for manufacturing design challenges? The authors propose that biological tilings could prove to be an inspiration for the fashion and sports industries, as they can be used to create coverings that take into account body topology. The authors have created a public website to share their dataset and collect more examples, in what the authors hope will be a launchpad for future research and collaborative, cross-disciplinary, bio-inspired projects.
PNAS Nexus
Tiled material systems: Exploring biodiversity and multifunctionality of a universal and structural motif
11-Nov-2025