Whereas interaction of boron acids (boric and boronic) with diols and neutral sugar ligands has received much global research attention in recent years, the binding of simple a-hydroxycarboxylic and sugar acids by boron has received less attention. Applications of boron-based fluorescent sensors and chemoselective catalysts targeting this functional motif have appeared only in the past 5 years. The present synopsis will focus on rapid developments that have occurred in both areas during this half decade.