“George Lauder from Harvard University, USA, explains that the fish have long inspired human engineers, but more recently attention has focused on how the fish’s remarkable skin boosts swimming.” The Ridges called denticles that cover the shark helps it swim faster.The denticles not only increase speed, they also “improve thrust.” When sharks swim, the water goes through their furrows, reducing friction and ultimately helping them swim faster.
“The shark’s skin is so rough that contact with it can injure prey.” The coarse denticles point facing the tail so if you were to rub your hand down towards the tail it would feel smooth. Oppositely if you were to rub towards shark’s head it would feel very rough.
“Sharkskin is well adapted for moving through water at high speeds, so engineering a similar coating could be useful in making wind and water turbines run more efficiently. To do that, scientists need to understand exactly how denticles work.” A study at Harvard showed that denticles help the shark move 12% faster in comparison to a shark who does not have denticles!