Sharks Aren't Such a Drag!

Sharks Aren’t Such a Drag!

Skin among aquatic species has become a widely studied topic throughout the science world, however these studies have now become of great interest to another group: Engineers. Aquatic ecosystems contain vast numbers of species, all of which have noticeable differences between the skins they possess (Lang, 2009). Yet each type of skin has allowed for specialization within that species particular environment. Scientists and engineers have now been working together to capture the natural adaptations of these species and utilize the biology, chemistry and overall physiology of their skins to create innovative technology in our own world. Sharks have become one of the more popular species for innovative bio-mimicry and bio-technology (Lang, 2009). Their unique scales, termed dermal denticles or placoid scales have allowed them to reduce laminar and turbulent drag (Bushnell, 1991 and Lang et al, 2008), as these particular scales produce a 3-dimensional rib pattern that has been shown to have a significant reduction in drag (Bechert et al, 1999). However, the reduction in drag is not all that the shark skin has to offer us humans. The morphology of the shark nose is at the initial stages of being applied to fighter aircrafts (Bushnell, 1991), and the chemical properties of the skin are now being applied to marine ships and even hospitals as it acts as a natural antifouling surface (Magin et al, 2010). Each of these qualities is being studied at length to better our understanding of how these 400 million year old creatures have adapted so successfully to the pressures of their aquatic environments. While sharks are not the first species to drive technological innovation, they are currently the center of attention and will likely remain so for some time to come. The advances made in bio-mimicry have allowed us to better adapt to our world, and hopefully this will provide purely selfish reasons for preserving our rapidly decreasing...