Electronics distributor Electrocomponents has announced the appointment of Steve Newland as president of its subsidiary, Allied Electronics. [ + ]

Researchers have created a thermoelectric organic transistor — apparently the first in the world to be controlled by a heat signal rather than an electrical signal. [ + ]

Scientists led by CSIRO have made the world's strongest material more commercially viable with the help of the humble soybean. [ + ]

The inaugural Industrial Internet Summit, developed to assist leaders navigating the migration to the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), will be held in Sydney later this month. [ + ]

By coating normal fabric with an electroactive material, Swedish researchers have endowed the fabric with the ability to actuate in the same way as muscle fibres. [ + ]

Southco, a provider of engineered access hardware solutions, has announced the appointment of Jay Lu as managing director of Southco Asia Pacific. [ + ]

Semiconductor company STMicroelectronics has reported positive financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended 31 December 2016. [ + ]

Sanyo Denki's rugged AC and DC fans and blowers are now available for immediate shipment globally through Digi-Key Electronics. [ + ]

u-blox has announced an asset deal with SimTech Group that will give u-blox control over the company's cellular modem products (known as SIMCom Wireless), patents and know-how, R&D and sales staff, and customer base. [ + ]

Technology company CUI has signed a worldwide distribution agreement with Arrow Electronics. [ + ]

Singaporean scientists have developed conducting polymer films that provide high performance in plastic electronics, including organic LEDs, solar cells and transistors. [ + ]

US researchers have developed a bacteria-powered battery on a single sheet of paper that can power disposable electronics. [ + ]

STMicroelectronics, G&D and FitPay have used ST's security chip to create what is said to be the first secure hardware and software solution that is pre-approved for use by device manufacturers with the aim to develop integrated tokenised payments from Mastercard or Visa. [ + ]

RS Components has announced that its DesignSpark online electronics engineering community has reached a total of 500,000 members. [ + ]

US researchers have created a stretchy transistor that can be elongated to twice its length with only minimal changes in its conductivity. [ + ]