Flaps perform essential jobs. From pumping hearts to revving engines, flaps help fluid flow in one direction. Without them, keeping liquids going in the right direction is challenging to do.

Ordinarily, if you want liquid to flow in only one direction through a pipe, that pipe needs to be equipped with a flap-type valve – which could fail. Now, however, scientists have created a new type ...

Scientists at the University of Washington have re-created the distinctive spiral shapes of shark intestines in 3D-printed pipes in order to study the unique fluid flow inside the spirals. Their ...