Can diatom girdle band pores act as a hydrodynamic viral defense mechanism?

J W Herringer, D Lester, G E Dorrington, G Rosengarten

Open access · bronzeAbstract read

In one paragraph

Article in Journal of biological physics, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

2citing papers in PubMed

0.4field-weighted citation impact, top 42% of its field

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.

The Ratio of Silicon to Chitin in Diatom Cell Walls Influences Their Resilience to Environmental Stress.Research (Washington, D.C.) · 2026
Article
Numerical Analysis of the Light Modulation by the Frustule ofNanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022
Article

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

J W HerringerSchool of Engineering, RMIT University, Carlton, Melbourne, Victoria, 3053, Australia. j.herringer@student.rmit.edu.au.ORCID 0000-0002-0971-6238

D LesterSchool of Engineering, RMIT University, Carlton, Melbourne, Victoria, 3053, Australia.

G E DorringtonSchool of Engineering, RMIT University, Carlton, Melbourne, Victoria, 3053, Australia.

G RosengartenSchool of Engineering, RMIT University, Carlton, Melbourne, Victoria, 3053, Australia.

RMIT University · AUMIT University · MK

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Diatoms are microalgae encased in highly structured and regular frustules of porous silica. A long-standing biological question has been the function of these frustules, with hypotheses ranging from them acting as photonic light absorbers to being particle filters. While it has been observed that the girdle band pores of the frustule of Coscinodiscus sp. resemble those of a hydrodynamic drift ratchet, we show using scaling arguments and numerical simulations that they cannot act as effective drift ratchets. Instead, we present evidence that frustules are semi-active filters. We propose that frustule pores simultaneously repel viruses while promoting uptake of ionic nutrients via a recirculating, electroosmotic dead-end pore flow, a new mechanism of "hydrodynamic immunity".

Indexed as

HydrodynamicsDiatomsModels, BiologicalPorositySilicon DioxideSilicon DioxideDiatom frustuleDrift ratchetElectroosmosisGirdle band pores

Identifiers

PMID31140117

DOI10.1007/s10867-019-09525-5

PMCPMC6548801

OpenAlexW2947279821

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata

Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.