Hamish Jolly, an ocean swimmer in Australia, wanted a wetsuit that would deter a curious shark from mistaking him for a potential source of nourishment. (Which, statistically, is rare, but certainly a fate worth avoiding.) Working with a team of scientists, he and his friends came up with a fresh approach — not a shark cage, not a suit of chain-mail, but a sleek suit that taps our growing understanding of shark vision.

A shark-deterrent wetsuit (and it's not what you think)

Life-saving innovation can come from paying attention to nature and old human wisdom. After a spike in fatal shark attacks in Western Australia, a team used shark vision science and evolutionary cues to create patterned wetsuits that disrupt a shark’s ability to see humans as prey. Testing revealed that sharks hesitated or acted confused when approaching these specially designed suits, which mimic warning signals seen in marine animals. This approach shows that translating biological and anecdotal evidence into technology can spark unexpected solutions.