Morphogenesis

Alan Mathison Turing (1912-1954) was a brilliant man who made major contributions in several areas of science. Today his name is mentioned frequently in philosophical discussions about the nature of Artificial Intelligence. Actually, he was a pioneer researcher in computer architecture and software engineering; his work in pure mathematics and mathematical logic extended considerably further and his last work, on morphogenesis in plants, is also acknowledged as being of the greatest originality and of permanent importance. He was one of the leading figures in Twentieth-century science, a fact which would have been known to the general public sooner but for the British Official Secrets Act, which prevented discussion of his wartime work.

The Chemical Basis of Morphogenesis (Phil. Trans. R. Soc. London B 237). A Diffusion Reaction Theory of Morphogenesis in Plants (with C.W. Wardlaw). Morphogen Theory of Phyllotaxis: I. Geometrical and Descriptive Phyllotaxis. II. Chemical Theory of Morphogenesis. III. A Solution of the Morphogenetic Equations for the Case of Spherical Symmetry (with B. Richards). Outline of the Development of the Daisy. Bibliography. Index.