Membrane skeleton: How to build a molecular shock absorber

The human red blood cell is a remarkable transport system, perfectly suited to its task. Its cargo, hemoglobin, is carried effortlessly throughout the body, where it is serves as a molecular shuttle for oxygen and other gases. Although the red blood cell is not itself motile, it leads a very dynamic existence in the circulatory system. During the course of its travels it must be durable enough to withstand the turbulent environment of the vasculature without losing its cargo; but it must also be pliant enough to squeeze through narrow passages of the microvasculature, often distorting in ways that a contortionist would admire.