  We provide an overview of recent work which aims to understand patterns of
vanishing Yukawa couplings that arise in models of particle physics derived
from string theory. These patterns are seemingly linked to a plethora of
different geometrical structures and our understanding of the subject has yet
to be consolidated in a unified framework. This short note is based upon a talk
that was given by one of the authors at the Nankai Symposium on Mathematical
Dialogues. Therefore it is aimed at a mathematical audience of mixed academic
background.
