Fractal Clues Unravel Heart’s Hidden Network

Researchers used fractal theory, MRI imaging, and genetics on 18,096 UK Biobank participants to show that the heart’s trabeculae—the snowflake-like muscular network—help determine cardiac performance and disease risk, a finding that builds on Leonardo da Vinci’s centuries-old observations and marks a first step toward a deeper understanding of how trabeculae form and function.