As a girl in Shanghai, China, Nancy Bjorge kept her fingers busy folding tiny paper boats. The shapes signified ingots, she says, and her grandmother pressed her to produce them by the hundreds.

With a few folds, brightly-colored squares of paper transform into animals, birds, flowers, and trees. More talented origami enthusiasts also use their skills to create original works based on popular ...

Back in 1999, Erik Demaine was a PhD student who created an algorithm that determined the folding patterns necessary to turn a piece of paper into any 3D shape. However, the algorithm was far from ...

Origami artists can turn a sheet of paper into the most intricate creations. But materials scientists are starting back at the very basics - just not using paper. They’re studying concepts from ...