Freshly Squeezed

Our blood – a mixture of blood cells, fluid, nutrients and waste – gathers speed as it flows towards our tissues and organs, where wide arteries narrow to thin arterioles, and pressure ramps up. Eventually the blood is forced across a bed of even thinner capillaries, sprinkling the surrounding tissues with fluid and nutrients as it flows to the other side. Experiments in these artificial capillaries, grown in a lab from human cells (stained purple with blue nuclei), mimic how red blood cells flowing in from narrowing arterioles (top) must squeeze and contort to fit through the capillaries (middle) before popping out at widening venules (bottom). Malaria parasites prevent blood cells from squashing up – often leading to life-threatening blockages known as microcirculatory obstruction, also common in sickle cell anaemia. Using these lab grown tools, scientists plan to test new therapies to treat these conditions and allow blood cells to carry on their way.

Written by John Ankers

John Ankers

Writer

A former researcher in systems biology, John is now an online biology tutor and professional coach supporting the wellbeing of scientists and NHS professionals. He's writing, too, of course.

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• Image from work by Christopher Arakawa, Celina Gunnarsson, Caitlin Howard and Maria Bernabeu, and colleagues
• Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
• Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
• Published in Science Advances, January 2020