Researchers Help Show That Blood Plasma Is Thicker Than Water

For decades, researchers thought that blood plasma behaved like water. But, according to new research from the University of Pennsylvania and Saarland University in Germany, plasma is more elastic and viscous than water, and, like ketchup, its flow properties depend on the pressure it is under. These traits mean that blood plasma has a much greater effect on how blood flows than was previously thought. The study may help improve researchers' understanding of medical conditions such as thrombosis, aneurysms and arteriosclerosis. It may also lead to more accurate computer simulations of blood, or even to better artificial blood substitutes. Paulo Arratia of Penn's School of Engineering and Applied Science's Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics collaborated with Saarland University physicist Christian Wagner to experimentally demonstrate blood plasma's previously misunderstood traits. Their work was published in the journal Physical Review Letters.