Blood cells can be damaged in the tubes of surgical pumps James King-Holmes / Alamy
Getting fluid to flow through tiny pipes without being damaged or slowed down is a tricky problem that comes into play in all sorts of places, including in some parts of the blood pumps used during heart surgery. The problem is that walls create friction – so why not just get rid of them? A new type of liquid pipe does just that, allowing water or blood to flow through it with nearly zero friction.
The liquid tubes were made using …
