Active Components, an Albany, New Zealand-based importer and distributor of electronic components, has been recognised by one of its top customers. At the inaugural Gallagher Supplier Awards, Active won three awards: Supplier of the Year; Account Manager of the Year - Nathan Bettridge; Customer Service Person of the Year - Neil Patel/Julie Bettridge. [ + ]

Researchers at MIT have built a carbon nanotube sensor that can monitor nitric oxide (NO) in living animals for more than a year. NO is one of the most important signalling molecules in living cells, carrying messages within the brain and coordinating immune system functions. In many cancerous cells, levels are perturbed, but very little is known about how NO behaves in both healthy and cancerous cells. [ + ]

Materials scientists at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have now created a new type of transistor that mimics the behaviour of a synapse. The novel device simultaneously modulates the flow of information in a circuit and physically adapts to changing signals. [ + ]

Solid oxide fuel cell efficiency has just taken a major step forward following research at the Nanoscale Prototyping Laboratory at Stanford University in the US. [ + ]

I can't help feeling that we are being led by the nose when it comes to technology. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not against technology but there does seem to be a spate of nose pulling, especially among consumer devices. [ + ]

Machine-to-machine (M2M) wireless network provider Kore Wireless has partnered with M2M Connectivity, specialists in distributing wireless modules and modems for M2M communications, to give M2M developers a chance to explore the benefits of Iridium Satellite services and dual-mode services combined with GSM/3G. [ + ]

ARM and Nordic Semiconductor have announced an agreement to incorporate Bluetooth low energy (BLE) solutions with the ARM mbed IoT device development platform. [ + ]

u-blox and ARM have joined forces to create a prototyping kit for designing wirelessly connected, location-aware internet devices: the ARM mbed-enabled u‑blox C027 'Internet of Things (IoT) Starter Kit'. [ + ]

Renesas Electronics Corporation, a supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, has appointed Tsuneo Takahashi as executive vice president and chief sales marketing officer (CSMO) as well as chief of the global sales and marketing division. [ + ]

Researchers at the A*STAR Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, Singapore, and Fudan University, China, have developed electrode material that is suitable for large-scale manufacturing and can store higher charge densities than the conventional electrodes used in lithium-ion batteries. [ + ]

Nordic Semiconductor is supporting an embedded systems education program being run at various Canadian universities with a large donation of its class-leading nRF51422 ANT+ systems-on-chip (SoC). [ + ]

As electronics approach the atomic scale, researchers are increasingly successful at developing atomically thin, virtually two-dimensional materials that could usher in the next generation of computing. Integrating these materials to create necessary circuits, however, has remained a challenge. [ + ]

Graphene may command the lion's share of attention but it is not the only material generating a buzz in the electronics world. Vanadium dioxide is one of the few known materials that acts like an insulator at low temperatures but like a metal at warmer temperatures starting around 67°C. [ + ]

Micron Technology has appointed Brian Angell as vice president, Advanced Controller Development. Angell will be responsible for leading Micron's controller development in support of Micron's enterprise, mobile and embedded businesses. [ + ]

RS Components (RS) and Allied Electronics are spurring engineers into creative combat with an invitation to pit their design skills against each other using DesignSpark Mechanical - new free and intuitive 3D design software - co-developed with SpaceClaim. [ + ]