Wearable technology—from smart clothes to smartwatches—has come into the mainstream. Yet, as popular as they already are, scientists and entrepreneurs are constantly looking for ways to take these bite-sized, body-hugging chips and gadgets into unchartered areas. One recent development—wearables that can track biochemicals in sweat—could prove to be a huge breakthrough for researchers doing clinical studies, and even for the non-research-inclined fitness buff at home. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, a team at the University of California Berkeley has developed a monitor that is small enough to wear and can analyze multiple compounds in sweat at once. Previous sweat monitors tended to be too large to be practical, and could only measure one compound at a time. If the Berkeley team’s sweat monitor proves to be viable in the long run, it could help add a whole new dimension to current fitness trackers by providing information about the wearer at the molecular level. Of course, there is more research that needs to be done to flesh out certain problems, such as the gaps that could form between the skin and the sensors. Nevertheless, biochemical monitoring looks like it’s on the horizon, and is another example of wearable tech pushing boundaries without even breaking a sweat.

Source: Wall Street Journal