Osteoporosis and other bone-related disorders represent a major public health threat. One out of every two women and one in four men, aged 50 or older, is expected to develop an osteoporosis-related fracture in their lifetime [1], [2], [3]. There is a huge demand for products enhancing bone regeneration. Therefore, the last decade was denominated the bone and joint decade by the World Health Authority.

Diverse structures, such as the skeletal elements of the limb, rugae of the palate, cartilaginous rings of the trachea, intestinal villi, and feathers, scales, or hair follicles, develop in a periodically patterned manner. Although many specific models to explain the spontaneous emergence of such repeating patterns in embryonic tissues have been proposed [1], these can be grouped into 2 general classes (Fig 1A). The first class, based on the Turing reaction–diffusion system, relies on the operation of 2 opposing signalling processes: an activator, which is self-enhancing and has a limited spatial range, coupled with the production of an inhibitor with a greater spatial range.