Although the shape and structure of the frustule vary from one diatom species to another, the frustule itself is a rather ...

"The evolutionary success and importance of diatoms to the Earth habitat means that their structure is optimal simultaneously in many respects—photonically, mechanically, biochemically—while ...

which actually prevents the diatoms from breaking. The professor described it as, "[t]he presence of the holes delocalizes the concentrations of stress on the structure." Based from the results of ...

However, as Phys.org reports, Greer and her team believe that these holes also strengthen the diatom's structure, by stopping the spread of cracks once the organism comes under pressure.

Andrew Alverson is a biologist and expert on diatoms at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. He contributed this article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. About 20 percent ...

and concluded the diatom wasn't using those genes. "But we started seeing very different morphologies," changes in cell structure, Halsey said, in this case related to sexual activity.

The results provided insights into the genome structure and evolution of F. cylindrus, as well as this diatom's role in the Southern Ocean. Diatoms are a common type of photosynthetic ...