Fig. 6.

Viscosities of PVP360k solutions: low-shear values from rheometry (filled circle); microrheology data obtained using 980-nm beads at 10⁴ Hz (red square); and ${\eta }^{\prime }$ deduced from swimming data (green triangle). Lines are best fits (SI Text). (Inset) Schematic showing three snapshots of a section of a flagellum (sphere, $\approx 40\hspace{0.5em}\mathrm{nm}$) cutting through a solution of polymer coils ($\approx 120\hspace{0.17em}\mathrm{nm}$) (with a circular path). Coils, which are initially in the path of the flagellum section (gray), become stretched out (red), leaving a coil-sized channel of solvent.