Fatal shark attacks worldwide dipped to their lowest levels in two decades in 2007 with the sole casualty involving a swimmer vacationing in the South Pacific, according to the latest statistics from the University of Florida.

While sharks instill fear in beachgoers worldwide, they instill a deep sense of curiosity in UT assistant professor and shark expert Dan Huber.

When the first four-legged animals sprouted fingers and toes, they took an ancient genetic recipe and simply extended the cooking time, say University of Florida scientists writing in Wednesday’s issue of the journal PLoS ONE. Even sharks — which have existed for more than half a billion years— have the recipe for fingers in their genetic cookbook — not to eat them, but to grow them.

Scientists are building a three dimensional computer model to test the ‘bite force’ of the Great White shark using data from a shark caught in beach nets off the NSW Central Coast.

Sharks are known to have a keen sense of smell, which in many species is critical for finding food. However, according to new research from Boston University marine biologists, sharks can not use just their noses to locate prey; they also need their skin - specifically a location called the lateral line.

There is growing public support in China for the need to protect the world's dwindling shark population, but little understanding about the connection between conservation and shark finning, according to a survey.

Female shark became the first vertebrate to reproduce without mating with male. Scientists couldn't find male DNA in the new born baby hammerhead.

A team of Canadian and American scientists says that the overfishing of large sharks has led to an explosion of small predators that are devastating populations of shellfish. Sharks usually do not evoke sympathy, but a new study could change that.