Editing Percolation theory (section)

== Applications ==

=== In biology, biochemistry, and physical virology ===
Percolation theory has been used to successfully predict the fragmentation of biological virus shells (capsids),<ref name="Brunk Twarock p. ">{{cite journal | last1=Brunk | first1=Nicholas E. | last2=Twarock | first2=Reidun | title=Percolation Theory Reveals Biophysical Properties of Virus-like Particles | journal=ACS Nano | publisher=American Chemical Society (ACS) | date=2021 | volume=15 | issue=8 | pages=12988–12995 | issn=1936-0851 | doi=10.1021/acsnano.1c01882 | pmid=34296852 | pmc=8397427 | doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Brunk | first1 = N. E. | last2 = Lee | first2 = L. S. | last3 = Glazier | first3 = J. A. | last4 = Butske | first4 = W. | last5 = Zlotnick | first5 = A. | year = 2018 | title = Molecular Jenga: the percolation phase transition (collapse) in virus capsids | journal = Physical Biology | volume = 15 | issue = 5| page = 056005 | doi=10.1088/1478-3975/aac194| pmid = 29714713 | pmc = 6004236 | bibcode = 2018PhBio..15e6005B }}</ref> with the fragmentation threshold of [[Hepatitis B]] virus [[capsid]] predicted and detected experimentally.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Lee | first1 = L. S. | last2 = Brunk | first2 = N. | last3 = Haywood | first3 = D. G. | last4 = Keifer | first4 = D. | last5 = Pierson | first5 = E. | last6 = Kondylis | first6 = P. | last7 = Zlotnick | first7 = A. | year = 2017 | title = A molecular breadboard: Removal and replacement of subunits in a hepatitis B virus capsid | journal = Protein Science | volume = 26 | issue = 11| pages = 2170–2180 | doi=10.1002/pro.3265| pmid = 28795465 | pmc = 5654856 }}</ref> When a critical number of subunits has been randomly removed from the nanoscopic shell, it fragments and this fragmentation may be detected using Charge Detection Mass Spectroscopy (CDMS) among other single-particle techniques.  This is a molecular analog to the common board game [[Jenga]], and has relevance to the broader study of virus disassembly.  More stable viral particles (tilings with greater fragmentation thresholds) are found in greater abundance in nature.<ref name="Brunk Twarock p. "/>

=== In ecology ===
Percolation theory has been applied to studies of how environment fragmentation impacts animal habitats<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Boswell|first1=G. P.|last2=Britton|first2=N. F.|last3=Franks|first3=N. R.|date=1998-10-22|title=Habitat fragmentation, percolation theory and the conservation of a keystone species|journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences|language=en|volume=265|issue=1409|pages=1921–1925|doi=10.1098/rspb.1998.0521|issn=0962-8452|pmc=1689475}}</ref> and models of how the plague bacterium ''[[Yersinia pestis]]'' spreads.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Davis|first1=S.|last2=Trapman|first2=P.|last3=Leirs|first3=H.|last4=Begon|first4=M.|last5=Heesterbeek|first5=J. a. P.|date=2008-07-31|title=The abundance threshold for plague as a critical percolation phenomenon|journal=Nature|volume=454|issue=7204|pages=634–637|doi=10.1038/nature07053|issn=1476-4687|pmid=18668107|bibcode=2008Natur.454..634D|hdl=1874/29683|s2cid=4425203|hdl-access=free}}</ref>