Shark skin studied by US military to make faster, more agile aircraft

The U.S. Army is funding research on the skin of the mako shark that was presented Monday and could impact how aircraft are built. The skin of the mako shark is being studied by the U.S. Army to help build faster aircraft, according to research presented on Monday. Makos, the world's fastest sharks, have rows of millions of tiny raised scales along their sides and fins that researchers at the University of Alabama (UA) believe could be the reason for that lightning speed. Dr. Amy Lang, a UA aeronautical engineer, is leading the research that she presented at a meeting of the American Physical Society Meeting on Monday, The Independent reported. The mako's scales, called denticles, are translucent, flexible and shaped like tiny shark teeth.