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The valve was developed by Dr. Rakan bin Ibrahim Nazer, a Professor of Cardiac Sciences
It features three movable leaflets connected to a central mechanism and a peripheral ring
King Saud University has been granted a US patent for a tri-leaflet mechanical heart valve developed by Professor of Cardiac Sciences at the College of Medicine Dr. Rakan bin Ibrahim Nazer.
The invention features a mechanical design comprising three movable leaflets connected to a central mechanism and a peripheral ring.
This configuration enables the leaflets to open and close in a coordinated manner, regulating blood flow and reducing regurgitation.
The invention introduces a novel approach to mechanical heart valve design, focusing on optimizing leaflet kinematics and blood-flow dynamics compared with conventional valve designs.
The patent adds to King Saud University’s track record of medical innovation and represents a further step in advancing mechanical heart valve technology.
source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)
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The invention introduces a novel approach to mechanical heart valve design. (SPA)
TechWorks attracted about 100 inventors and start-up companies, enabling them to produce prototypes quickly and at a low cost.
In the age of COVID, Jordanian mechanical engineer Saliba Taimeh pondered how to deal with one contaminated everyday surface: the handrails of escalators in shopping malls and transport hubs.
He came up with a device to sterilise them with a UV ray and this is where TechWorks stepped in.
A wealth of ideas would not have seen the light of day without TechWorks, a Jordanian platform aimed at bringing together youth, ideas and resources to jump-start innovations.
Set up in 2018, TechWorks says its mission is “to plug into entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystems” and turn ideas into reality.
It is equipped with state-of-the-art technology such as 3D printers and is affiliated to a foundation set up by Crown Prince Hussein.
Last year, it attracted some 100 inventors and start-up companies, enabling them to produce prototypes quickly and at a low cost.
Taimeh, 39, said TechWorks “provided me with every support, back-up, advice and guidance” to help perfect the sterilising device, after 23 attempts over almost two years.
His invention sterilises the handrails of escalators “from all kinds of viruses, such as coronavirus and bacteria,” he said.
After contacting several international companies, a German firm specialising in health and safety in public places signed up to manufacture the “Brigid Box”.
Weighing in at 7.2 kilogrammes, it can be installed in less than 15 minutes.
Tour de force
Taimeh’s success story is only one of many.
High school student Zain Abu Rumman, 18, has developed a tracking device for elderly patients and people with special needs, worn like a watch or around the neck.
The “SPS Watch” has a battery that lasts eight days and is resistant to water, heat and breakage.
“The device can send alerts to the mobile phone of a family member through a special application in case the person wearing it falls or is hurt, or if he strays from a certain place,” Abu Rumman said.
It took him two-and-a-half years to perfect and he has struck a production accord with a Chinese company.
Omar Khader, 26, works for “Jazri Studio”, an industrial design company which has devised a “smart” plug to protect children from electric shocks.
“TechWorks has advanced equipment, engineers and technicians that help us convert our ideas into successful products,” he said.
From a mere idea into a real product
Other designers, such as 32-year-old civil engineer Malik Nour, still have a long and expensive way to go to refine their products.
Nour’s brainchild is the “Pikler Triangle”, designed as a safe and environmentally friendly children’s toy.
He hopes to attract Swedish furniture giant IKEA to take on his products, which he is already selling over social media to customers in Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, under the label of “Fares World”, named after his child.
Ismail Hakki, executive director of TechWorks, said its aim is to provide “a creative environment and all the necessary resources to support and enable young people to transform their projects from a mere idea into a real product”.
The doors of the project’s “Fabrication Lab”, or FabLab, are “open to all; we support students, entrepreneurs and startups”, he said.
FabLab also provides services to doctors and hospitals in the fields of facial restoration, digital dentistry, face masks and sterilisation.
At the request of a doctor, it transformed the chest x-ray of a patient with a malignant tumour close to the heart into a three-dimensional model of the patient’s chest making it easier to operate.
FabLab touts many successes, including a “smart home” which allows a mobile phone user to control electrical appliances inside the house from afar by turning on heating or cooling systems and a piano keyboard to help a blind musician play.
It plans to open two more branches in Jordan to provide technology training and help for school and university students.
Saliba Taimeh, a 39-year-old Jordanian mechanical engineer and inventor, holds a demo of his ultraviolet radiation sterilisation device at the TechWorks digital fabrication lab Amman, February 20, 2022. (AFP)
Shaden Khallaf has received the 2026 Women of MENA Award in recognition of her work in technology, public policy and humanitarian leadership.
Announced in October, the award recognises her career spanning the private sector, international organisations and academia, with a focus on cooperation between governments, businesses and multilateral institutions.
The Women of MENA initiative recognises women whose work contributes to governance, innovation and institutional development across the Middle East and North Africa.
According to the award announcement, Khallaf was selected for her contributions to public policy, digital transformation and humanitarian affairs, alongside her leadership in addressing challenges across these fields.
Khallaf previously served as senior director of public policy, government affairs, social impact and communications at Careem, an Uber company.
Her responsibilities covered digital regulation, artificial intelligence, sustainability, economic development and public-private cooperation.
Before joining Careem, she served as Meta’s head of public policy and global lead for tourism policy and sustainability, working on emerging technologies, digital transformation and regulatory policy across the MENA region.
The announcement highlighted her involvement in youth online safety initiatives that reached tens of millions of people and tourism technology projects viewed by hundreds of millions. It also cited her work in advancing discussions on data protection and responsible artificial intelligence.
Khallaf spent more than 20 years with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), concluding her tenure as senior policy adviser and head of the regional policy unit.
Her work across 17 countries during major humanitarian crises focused on displacement, socioeconomic inclusion, resilience to climate change, and mobilising private-sector resources for humanitarian programmes.
The award also recognised Khallaf’s academic contributions. She has held teaching and fellowship roles at the University of Pennsylvania, the Geneva Graduate Institute, the University of Jordan and the American University in Cairo.
She has also undertaken executive education in climate change policy and economics at Harvard University.
Samia Henni, assistant professor in the College of Architecture, Art and Planning, has received the 2020 Spiro Kostof Book Award from the Society of Architectural Historians.
Henni, who teaches in the History of Architecture and Urban Development (HAUD) Ph.D. program, was honored for her first book, “Architecture of Counterrevolution: The French Army in Northern Algeria” (2017).
The award, established in 1993 in recognition of the career and writings of architectural historian Spiro Kostof (1936–91), is given to outstanding interdisciplinary studies of urban history that make the greatest contribution to the understanding of the growth and development of cities.
“I am thrilled that my first book is one of the recipients of this eminent award given in memory of Professor Kostof’s influential scholarship and his exceptional approach to architectural history,” Henni said. “This is truly the highest distinction and the most honorable recognition that I can aspire to. I am extremely grateful to the SAH for supporting and endorsing scholarship on the destroyed and built environment resulting from violent colonial practices and military measures, which, to this day, continue to be part of the daily lives of millions of people around the world.”
Henni’s book examines the intersection of French colonial policies and military counterinsurgency operations in architecture in Algeria during the Algerian Revolution (1954–62). During this bloody and protracted armed conflict, the French civil and military authorities reorganized Algeria’s vast urban and rural territory with profound effects. Built environments were drastically transformed by the colonial regime, infrastructure rapidly “implanted” and new settlements were strategically built to keep Algeria under French rule, according to Henni.
Focusing on three interrelated spatial counterrevolutionary measures, Henni’s research provides an extensive analysis of the massive forced resettlement of Algerian farmers, the mass-housing programs designed for the Algerian population as part of Gen. Charles de Gaulle’s Plan de Constantine, and the new fortified administrative town planned for the protection of the French authorities during the last months of the Algerian Revolution. One of the aims of the book is to depict the modus operandi of these settlements, their roots, developments, scopes, actors, protocols, impacts and design mechanisms.
Henni received her Ph.D. in the history and theory of architecture from ETH Zurich. She teaches architectural history and theory with a focus on colonialism, deserts, displacement, intersectionality, gender and war, from the European colonization of the Americas to the present.
Patti Witten is a writer for the College of Architecture, Art and Planning.
Researchers say larger clinical studies are needed before the technology could be used as a diagnostic test.
Researchers at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology have developed an electronic sensor that can detect molecular signatures associated with Parkinson’s disease in blood, an advance that could eventually help identify the disease before characteristic symptoms emerge.
The technology, developed by KAUST researchers in collaboration with the University of Oxford, simultaneously detects three forms of alpha-synuclein, a protein closely associated with Parkinson’s disease, according to a study published in Science Advances.
In an initial blinded evaluation involving 59 participants from the Oxford Discovery cohort, the platform achieved 90.9 percent accuracy in distinguishing disease-associated profiles from healthy controls. The study included people with Parkinson’s disease, healthy controls and individuals with isolated REM sleep behavior disorder, or iRBD, a condition associated with an increased risk of developing Parkinson’s disease or related neurological disorders.
Speaking to Arab News, Sahika Inal, associate professor of bioengineering at KAUST, said the next phase of research will focus on testing the sensor in larger patient cohorts. “That requires us also to make more of the same sensors of the same quality with industrial precision,” she said.
Once the larger studies produce the necessary results, the researchers could seek regulatory approval from the Saudi Food and Drug Authority and the US Food and Drug Administration, she said.
“It takes 3-4 years for such early-stage technologies to reach clinical use,” Inal said.
The sensor addresses one of the key challenges in using blood to investigate Parkinson’s disease. More than 95 percent of alpha-synuclein circulating in blood originates from red blood cells, creating substantial background noise that makes it difficult to identify signals from the nervous system.
The researchers’ approach first isolates tiny packages released by nerve cells into the bloodstream before analyzing their protein contents with the electronic sensor. A transistor at the center of the system amplifies very small biological signals into larger electronic signals, allowing the three forms of alpha-synuclein to be measured in about 40 minutes.
Parkinson’s disease damages dopamine-producing neurons and can cause problems with movement, balance and other bodily functions. Diagnosis is currently based largely on clinical assessment and often follows the emergence of characteristic movement symptoms.
Detecting disease-related molecular changes through a blood sample could therefore provide an opportunity to investigate the disease at an earlier stage. However, the researchers stress that the current findings do not establish the sensor as a standalone diagnostic test.
Inal said the team also does not yet know whether the markers could be used to track how the disease changes over time.
“We have no evidence right now whether these markers change over time with respect to the severity of the disease,” she said. “We have only now discovered a marker that we suggest as a potential indicator of the onset of the disease.”
To determine whether the sensor could eventually be used to monitor disease progression or response to treatment, researchers would need to follow the same group of patients over an extended period.
“We would need to test more samples to see how the amount of these markers changes as the disease progresses. This would require tests from the same cohort over the years,” Inal said.
The study also found distinct patterns in the different forms of alpha-synuclein among people with Parkinson’s disease, healthy controls and those with iRBD, suggesting that measuring them together could provide more diagnostic information than relying on a single marker.
The research comes as Saudi Arabia places greater emphasis on preventive healthcare and early detection as life expectancy increases and the population ages.
For KAUST, the next stage could also include research involving patients in the Kingdom. “We would be delighted to work with Saudi clinicians,” Inal said.
The researchers emphasize that the current results are an initial step. Larger, prospective and multicenter clinical studies will be needed to establish the technology’s reliability and long-term predictive value before it can be considered for routine clinical use.
source/content: arabnews.com (headlines edited)
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KAUST researchers have developed an electronic sensor that detects three forms of alpha-synuclein, a protein closely associated with Parkinson’s disease, in blood samples. (Supplied)
Emirati designers took centre stage at the Watch and Jewellery Middle East Show, showcasing their latest innovative collections of gold and diamonds and bespoke designs inspired by the UAE’s rich heritage.
Organised by Expo Centre Sharjah with the support of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), the exhibition runs from 30th September to 4th October.
The designers’ creations are featured under the Emirati Goldsmiths platform, which SCCI dedicates to the exhibition as part of its ongoing efforts to empower national talent and support young entrepreneurs by strengthening their presence in the jewellery and watchmaking events.
The Emirati Goldsmiths platform brings together 20 Emirati women designers from across the UAE, all making their debut on the platform. Their participation marks an important step in the initiative’s efforts to expand its talent base, attract emerging national designers, and create greater market exposure for a new generation of creative entrepreneurs in the gold and jewellery sector.
Their jewellery creations on display ranged across gold, diamonds, pearls, and gemstones, in addition to Emirati heritage-inspired pieces. The diverse offerings highlight the versatility and creativity of national talents and their ability to blend heritage-inspired craftsmanship with contemporary design, delivering distinctive jewellery concepts tailored to the preferences of today’s consumers.
Abdallah Sultan Al Owais, Chairman of SCCI, said the Sharjah Chamber’s continued support for the Emirati Goldsmiths platform reflects a strategic vision that views creative industries as a key driver of the knowledge economy and an important avenue for diversifying sources of national income.
He noted that the initiative provides a platform for nurturing national talent and supports an integrated economic ecosystem that helps take local innovation in the gold, jewellery, and gemstone industries to international markets.
Mona Al Suwaidi, Director of the Executive Office of the SCCI Chairman and head of the Emirati Goldsmiths platform, said the platform’s participation in the current edition of the Watch and Jewellery Middle East Show marks a significant step forward in empowering emerging national talent, with 20 Emirati women designers participating for the first time.
She highlighted the Sharjah Chamber’s firm commitment to nurturing a new generation of women entrepreneurs in gold and jewellery design and craftsmanship, and providing them with a professional platform to facilitate direct engagement with leading manufacturers and regional and international industry experts.
The ‘Sharjah Pearls’ pavilion also drew strong interest at the exhibition, returning for the second consecutive year as part of a strategic partnership between SCCI and Suwaidi Pearls. The pavilion provides a specialised platform showcasing the intersection of traditional maritime heritage and contemporary innovation.
Abdulla Rashed Al Suwaidi, founder of Suwaidi Pearls, said the initiative provides an important platform for reviving the legacy and commercial traditions of pearl diving, preserving the oral history and craftsmanship of previous generations, and faithfully passing this heritage on to younger generations. He highlighted a range of traditional diving tools, including the “Al Dayeen” and “Al Fetam”, traditionally crafted from sea turtle shell (Al Ghaylam).
Among the exhibition’s standout offerings, Emirati designer Eman Al Shawab, founder of “Leap of Faith Fine Jewellery”, presented a unique collection of 18-karat gold designs centred on highlighting the inherent beauty of raw gemstones with minimal traditional processing. Her approach combines geological education with innovative, unconventional concepts, offering a distinctive proposition in the contemporary jewellery market.
Emirati designer Eman Al Marzouqi, founder of “Emma Couture”, showcased an innovative jewellery collection embodying her brand’s three-year-old design philosophy centred on creating integrated fashion lines rooted in Emirati identity. The brand uses the Damask rose (Ward Al Jouri) as a distinctive visual and design icon, translating this heritage-inspired element into contemporary jewellery concepts.
Making her first appearance under the Emirati Goldsmiths platform, Emirati designer Afra Saeed Al Suwaidi introduced her new brand, “Setami Jewellery”, inspired by the rich heritage of traditional Emirati goldsmithing, with a particular focus on the distinctive patterns and motifs of “Al Diqqa Al Qadeema”.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed Deemah Al-Yahya as a member of the UN High-Level Panel on Freedom of Transit for Landlocked Developing Countries.
Al-Yahya represents the Arab region on the panel, a role that reflects her expertise and contributions in the fields of the digital economy, innovation, and international digital cooperation, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Thursday.
The panel, announced by the United Nations, comprises senior representatives and experts from governments, international organizations, the private sector, and academia.
Al-Yahya is currently serving her second term as Secretary-General of the Digital Cooperation Organization and possesses extensive experience in international cooperation, multilateral diplomacy, policymaking, and the promotion of cross-border investment and development.
Her appointment follows a consultative process and nominations by UN member states, part of an initiative designed to bring together diverse expertise from governments, international organizations, the private sector, academia, and other fields to support the panel’s work.
Al-Yahya described her appointment as a “true honor” and said: “As our world changes, so too must the way we approach development.”
“We need to innovate, challenge traditional approaches, and find new models and methods fit for a new era, especially for countries facing unique geographic and development challenges.
“With 32 landlocked developing countries facing barriers to transit and global markets, I look forward to working alongside fellow panel members to explore practical solutions that can create greater connectivity, opportunity, and prosperity.”
source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)
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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed Deemah Al-Yahya as a member of the UN High-Level Panel on Freedom of Transit for Landlocked Developing Countries. (File/SPA)
Fears arise over potential growth of pro-Iran factions
The US military announced Wednesday that it completed the withdrawal of all American troops from Iraq, ending a 12-year mission to fight the Daesh group and prompting US President Donald Trump to hail the conclusion of “a very expensive excursion into Hell.”
The last US troops left an air base in northern Iraq under a deal between Baghdad and Washington.
Trump described the withdrawal by a Sept. 30 deadline as “orderly” and said in a social media post: “It has been a long time, with very bad decision-making that got us involved in this quagmire in the first place, but soon, that will be part of History.” He said the shift was a victory for the US, Iraq and a sign of victory over the Daesh group.
The withdrawal, agreed on two years ago, comes against the backdrop of the ongoing war between the United States and Iran that has also sometimes spilled over into Iraq, with Iran-backed militias firing on US troops and the US striking the groups’ strongholds.
Trump’s comments came as own decision earlier this year to launch the war with Iran has been compared to the Iraq war for its undefined mission as it nears its seventh month.
In recent years, Washington has appeared to seek to shift its focus from the Middle East toward Asia, but that shift has been inconsistent, with the Pentagon alternating between reducing its Mideast presence and then finding itself engaging in new conflicts — including the ongoing war in Iran.
Baghdad touted the end of the US mission as a sign of the country’s increasing strength and sovereignty.
The withdrawal was also celebrated by Iran-backed groups but raised concerns among some other Iraqis, particularly in the Kurdish region, where many fear a resurgence of the Daesh group as well as more attacks by Iran-linked groups, possibly emboldened by the departure of US forces.
Meanwhile, questions loom around the future of the Iraqi militias, which the Baghdad government has sought to disarm, with little success so far.
A new phase in Iraq after decades of US involvement
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement that US troops and equipment had completed an “orderly departure” from the air base in Irbil, in northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region.
“This milestone reflects the success of a 12-year campaign that defeated Daesh as an organized military threat in Iraq and across the region,” he said. “It also marks a transition from a wartime coalition mission to an Iraqi-led security effort supported by a more normal bilateral security relationship.”
He added that the US military “will continue to provide targeted training and intelligence support to our Iraqi partners.”
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi presided over the handover ceremony and described the US withdrawal as the beginning of a “new phase, one defined by Iraq’s sovereignty, the strength of its institutions, the readiness of its forces, the unity of its decision-making, and balanced partnerships with its friends.”
He said Iraqi security forces will continue the fight against IS and the government will ensure that non-state groups no longer hold weapons.
US troops invaded Iraq in 2003 to topple Saddam Hussein. They departed in 2011, but three years later, Iraqi authorities invited a smaller US-led mission to fight the Daesh group, which had rampaged across Iraq, seizing large swaths of territory.
With the extremist group reduced to scattered sleeper cells, Washington and Baghdad agreed in 2024 to wind the mission down.
US troops pulled out of bases in most areas of Iraq last year but maintained a small presence of hundreds of troops in the semiautonomous northern Kurdish region. Bases there have regularly come under attack since the US and Israel launched their war against Iran on Feb. 28. Iran-backed Iraqi militias also have coordinated with Yemen’s Houthi rebels to attack Saudi Arabia.
The future of militias remains unclear
The Iraqi government initially linked the Sept. 30 deadline for US withdrawal to the disarmament of non-state armed groups by that date.
While a handful of less-influential militias have agreed to turn over their weapons, powerful groups close to Iran rejected the prospect or set conditions for disarming that the government would be unlikely to meet.
Al-Zaidi has since walked back the deadline. He told The New York Times earlier this month that the deadline for militia disarmament has been pushed to June 2027.
The effects of the US withdrawal may not be immediately visible, particularly since the US military presence had already been scaled down. But officials in Iraq’s Kurdish region have expressed anxiety about the departure and particularly about the removal of US air defense systems.
The Kurdish regional government’s Peshmerga Ministry said the Kurdish region had faced more than 1,000 drone and ballistic-missile attacks during the recent US-Iran conflict.
“The departure of the United States from the Kurdistan Region under these complex regional circumstances, without the provision of a defense system, is a matter of concern,” the statement said.
Iran-allied groups in Iraq, meanwhile, have celebrated the US withdrawal.
“The expulsion of the occupation forces, defeated, from the land of Iraq is the beginning of full sovereignty,” Abu Mujahid Al-Assaf, a security official with the powerful Kataib Hezbollah militia, said in a statement.
He added a warning to Al-Zaidi and his government not to carry out American plans, threatening that “any government that does not work for the benefit of the people will be overthrown by all means.”
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed militias, said in a statement that negotiations with the government over the regulation of weapons have not resulted in an agreement and that it was “not bound by any timeline or agreement” announced by the government or political entity. The group said it is open to “any dialogue that guarantees Iraq’s sovereignty and dignity.”
sourcec/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)
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American soldiers taking position around the embassy in the capital Baghdad. (AFP)
King Mohammed VI of Morocco appointed Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri on Tuesday as Morocco’s first woman prime minister after her Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) came out on top in a September 23 parliamentary election, the royal palace said.
The king asked El Mansouri to form a new government, the palace said in a statement.
She was appointed under Article 47 of the Moroccan Constitution, which requires the King to choose the head of government from the party winning the most seats.
Her center-right Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) secured 97 out of 395 seats in the September 23, 2026, parliamentary elections.
