KAUST

For a person with diabetes, monitoring blood glucose levels is an everyday hassle, usually involving finger pricks. A new prototype glucose monitor has been designed to power itself from that same glucose in bodily fluids.

A number of groups have already developed so-called "electronic skin," which adds electronic functionality to a user's natural skin. A new magnetic take on the technology, however, does away with the need for integrated electronics and power sources.

In the chemical-production industry, energy-intensive processes are constantly being used to remove unwanted molecules from liquids. It now looks like much of that energy could be saved, however, by utilizing filters made from plastic bottles.

The smaller and lighter electronics get, the more ways they can be used. A team of researchers has come up with a compact radar system the size of a matchbox that could be deployed in drones and other gadgets where portability and low cost are important.

​It was just last year that we heard about the Marine Skin patch, a flexible data-tracking device that can be temporarily adhered to marine creatures. Well, its designers have now come out with a version that's smaller, more sensitive, and capable of going much deeper.

​There may soon be yet another alternative to the painful finger-prick blood glucose tests which diabetics have to endure on a daily basis. Scientists in Saudi Arabia have developed a paper-strip sensor that gauges blood glucose via a patient's saliva.

​There may not be much water on the ground in arid parts of the world, but there still is some water vapor that can be drawn from the air. While so-called "fog nets" provide one way of doing so, scientists have now created a higher-tech alternative – it's a device that incorporates a salty hydrogel.

Striking a balance between common materials and efficiency is important for batteries, and regular old salt looks like it could fit the bill – after a few kinks are ironed out. Now, KAUST researchers have developed a way to make disordered graphene that can improve the sodium-ion battery recipe.

One of the limiting factors of remotely-operated vehicles is the fact that, in order for their operators to see what the ROVs' cameras are seeing, the craft have to be tethered to a support ship. Scientists are working on changing that, using lasers to wirelessly transmit video through the water.

​If you don't like seeing sea creatures getting saddled with cumbersome, uncomfortable-looking data-tracking devices, then you might like Marine Skin. While it still allows scientists to gather important data, it's also thin, light, flexible, stretchable and streamlined.

​A new device could finally see compact speakers delivering big sound thanks to some clever math and a maze of passive resonant chambers that massively boost the bass that can be produced by a tiny smartphone speaker.​