Sharks

Ordinarily, if you want liquid to flow in only one direction through a pipe, that pipe has to have a flap-type valve – which could fail. Now, scientists have created a new type of more robust one-way-flow pipe, which was inspired by shark intestines.

Mangroves may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a forest, but they're both incredible, unique ecosystems and serve as a structural and water-cleaning coastguard. These photos capture the wondrous, otherworldly ecosystems.

In the third BMC Ecology and Evolution image competition, a stunning snap of the invasive orange pore fungus (Favolaschia calocera) has not just encroached on native species’ territory but taken out the top spot in the annual contest.

Zero-emissions airliners are still a long way off, but Lufthansa and BASF have developed a way to improve things right now. AeroShark is an adhesive riblet film that immediately reduces fuel consumption, and therefore emissions, from any aircraft.

Back in 2019, we heard how scientists at Australia's Flinders University were developing a lightweight material that might someday be used in shark-bite-resistant wetsuits. Well, that day has arrived, and such a suit is now on Kickstarter.

In certain parts of the world, people such as surfers stand a real risk of being bitten by sharks. According to a recent study, however, a lightweight wetsuit fabric could greatly reduce the seriousness of injuries when such attacks occur.

Though there are just six fatal shark attacks each year globally, going for a swim off the back of a boat is not a pastime undertaken lightly. Now there's a scientifically-proven device which deters sharks and enables far safer ocean swimming. Is keeping the kids safe worth US$3,000?

​Since at least 2004, surfers, swimmers and scuba divers have been able to buy an electronic shark-deterrent device known as the Shark Shield. Its patented technology is now being offered in a handheld speargun-like gadget, called the eSpear.

A new research project has pitted a set of commercially available shark deterrent systems for surfers against one another, with a device that creates an electric forcefield around it coming out on top. ​

A team of biologists and engineers from Harvard University and the University of South Carolina have taken a fresh look at shark scales in the hopes of making drones, planes and wind turbines more efficient.

A new study is throwing further weight behind an old idea of using electrical pulses to scare off sharks by overstimulating their senses, with a comprehensive study finding the Shark Shield can deter attacks 90 percent of the time.​

Inventor, automaker, stuntman and Hollywood prop builder Eddie Paul gives us an unique insight into the process behind one of his spectacular mechanical sharks.