The HEARing Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) has received confirmation that it has been awarded $662,115 by the NSW Government Medical Devices Fund (MDF) to develop a device that monitors brainwaves to determine how well people can hear. [ + ]

Researchers in Singapore have designed an electronic switch that responds to changes in a magnetic field. The device relies on graphene, a strong and flexible electricity-conducting layer of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb pattern. [ + ]

Using carpets of aligned carbon nanotubes, researchers from Rice University and Sandia National Laboratories have created a solid-state electronic device that is hardwired to detect polarised light across a broad swathe of the visible and infrared spectrum. [ + ]

Comtest has reviewed the new RCM (Regulatory Compliance Mark) Scheme and has prepared a summary document, which is available on its website. [ + ]

Announced in the scientific journal Nature is a paper by a team led by the ‘Father of DSC’ Professor Michael Graetzel describing a new deposition process to create the light harvesting pigment for solid-state dye solar cells. [ + ]

SmartKem, the developer of organic semiconductor materials for flexible electronics, has announced that its SmartKem p-FLEX product has won the Technical Development Materials Award at the recently held IDTechEx Printed Electronics Asia event. [ + ]

Researchers at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) have developed a new method to massively synthesise enhanced yet affordable materials for supercapacitors. [ + ]

Mouser Electronics has signed a global distribution agreement for Plessey’s complete range of products including Epic sensor and Magic GaN LEDs. [ + ]

Reza Shahbazian-Yassar, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Michigan Technological University, has developed a device that allows researchers to eavesdrop on individual lithium ions - and potentially develop the next generation of batteries. [ + ]

RS Components has launched its Open Source Design Centre, a comprehensive free guide to open source electronics design hosted on designspark.com, the company’s online resource for electronics design engineers. [ + ]

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission recently held a meeting with button battery manufacturers, importers, retailers and industry associations to discuss improvements to button battery safety. [ + ]

Engineering job vacancies have declined in recent months, new data from the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations shows. [ + ]

Mouser Electronics has released an enhanced version of its medical applications site. New features focus on medical imaging solutions including MRI, portable ultrasound and digital X-ray, helping engineers to solve a unique set of design challenges. [ + ]

The A*STAR Institute of Microelectronics and Japan’s Shikino High-Tech Co have signed an agreement to create a next-generation application-specific integrated circuit intellectual property (ASIC IP) block for use in motion sensing technologies. [ + ]

Korean researchers have found a new physical organogel electrolyte with two unique characteristics: an irreversible thermal gelation and a high value of the lithium-ion transference number. [ + ]