Sherbrooke University

If the new E-AB biosensor reaches production, painful finger-prick tests like these may no longer be necessary

Diabetes

At-home saliva testing could replace daily finger-jabs for diabetics

Daily finger-prick blood tests are an uncomfortable fact of life for diabetics, but they may not always have to be. Scientists from Canada and the US have developed a prototype home-use device that measures blood glucose levels via saliva samples.

Researchers have discovered a receptor in humans that could be targeted to activate brown fat's energy-burning abilities

Obesity

New drug target in humans activates brown fat to burn excess energy

Scientists have shown how to activate energy-burning brown fat in mice, which helps shed weight and improves health. Results have been hard to replicate in humans, but a new study has found that we might be targeting the wrong receptor in our bodies.

The Odyssée system uses wave power to churn out clean drinking water

Environment

The Odyssée desalinator: Using the power of the ocean to cleanse its own salty waters

Dragan Tutić felt that using wave power to turn seawater into the drinkable variety on the spot had been largely unexplored. Having now developed a prototype, he hopes to deploy his wave-powered desalinator to where water scarcity threatens the survival of coastal communities.