We're still catching up with a great deal of Leonardo da Vinci’s ideas, including this one. Scientists combined genetics and fractal theory to analyze these branching heart structures. After 500 years, researchers finally understand the anatomical function of a heart feature first described by Leonardo da Vinci. Spencer Phillips The heart and its trabeculae, first described by Leonardo da Vinci. In this case, the trabeculae branch into smaller and smaller threads, and the nature of the fractal network is where many of the clues lie.