Natural History, February 1st, 2005
Its shape, in zebra fish, goes with the (blood) flow.
Blood is amazingly delicate and unstable. Essentially a suspension of cells and proteins in water, blood forms clots or clumps in response to any harsh mechanical treatment. That property keeps blood from pouring out uncontrollably after a break in a blood vessel, but it has also made it impossible so far to devise an artificial device that can pump blood without degrading its components and thereby increasing the risk of stroke.
The human heart is so miraculously gentle that it avoids that pitfall. Even as it contracts a hundred thousand...
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