Fractals in the Human Body
 

 

  • Fractal dichotomous branching (which greatly increases surface area) has been found in the brain,2 lungs, kidney, small intestine, heart blood vessels, and in some neurons

  • The human brain's surface has a fractal dimension between 2.73-2.79.1 What is a fractal dimension?

  • The surfaces of a cell's mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum are fractal surfaces: the same kind of folding is also found in the nasal membrane.

  • Cells, proteins, and even chromosomes have fractal tree architecture. 3

  • DNA sequences can be converted into a fractal picture using Iterated Function Systems (a method of generating fractals by iterating a collection of transformations).4

  • Enzyme and Ion Channel Kinetics (kinetics is the study of the rate at which they work) display fractal properties.

     

     

     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
                                                                                                              
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    References:

    (1)Thinkquest.org
    (2)University of Manitoba
    (3)Takahashi, M. 1989. A fractal model of chromosomes and chromosomal DNA replication. J. Theor. Biol. 141: 117-136. (4)Yale University
     (5)Arc GIF from NTHU (6)University of Manitoba