#university of south carolina
Shark Skin-Inspired Designs Improve Aerodynamic Performance
To build more aerodynamic machines, researchers are drawing inspiration from an unlikely source: the ocean.
A team of evolutionary biologists and engineers at Harvard University, in collaboration with colleagues from the University of South Carolina, has shed light on a decades-old mystery about sharkskin and, in the process, demonstrated a new, bioinspired structure that could improve the aerodynamic performance of planes, wind turbines, drones, and cars.
The research is published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface.
Sharks and airplanes aren’t actually all that different. Both are designed to efficiently move through fluid (water and air), using the shapes of their bodies to generate lift and decrease drag. The difference is, sharks have about a 400-million-year head start on the design process.
“The skin of sharks is covered by thousands and thousands of small scales, or denticles, which vary in shape and size around the body,” said George Lauder, the Henry Bryant Bigelow Professor of Ichthyology and professor of biology in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, a co-author of the research. “We know a lot about the structure of these denticles — which are very similar to human teeth — but the function has been debated.”
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Did y’all have flesh eating bacteria on your 2020 bingo card? Vibrio bacteria has been wreaking havoc long before 2020, and will only become more prevalent with the effects of climate change. Unfortunately, this has to be treated as an emerging threat to human health. Currently, severe vibrio infection (“flesh-eating”) is rare, but lesser forms of infection often go undiagnosed. This could lead to cases going unreported, and the threat underestimated.
A flesh-eating bacteria lurking in the ocean is killing people in the Carolinas
For anyone who followed my study abroad experience in Japan, I’ve got good news! Sometime in early 2016 (I have to wait for my visa to process), I’m going to be moving to Japan to become an English teacher. I’m more happy than I’ve ever been. I want to hurry up and graduate so I can go!
Until then, I’ve set up a Gofundme page for my relocation costs
gofundme.com/qk8m483k
if any of my family and friends or maybe even strangers wanted to contribute, this makes it super easy. I set my goal at $500 but if it goes over….that would be the greatest ever and if not, that’s okay too. Even the smallest amount is appreciated beyond belief. And if you can’t donate, just sharing this post and my page does wonders as well!
Thanks in advance for anyone who contributes or reblogs.
gofundme.com/qk8m483k
