In the Matt Damon movie The Martian, Damon creates water from rocket fuel, hydrazine and hydrogen, nearly blowing himself up in the process. Now, researchers have discovered that turning this process on its head, by adding hydrazine to water, creates hydrogen. This changes conductivity in a semiconductor — a transformation with potential ramifications for electronics and the production of renewable fuels. [ + ]

Researchers have discovered a way to optimise the transfer of electrons in solar fuel devices, a finding that could have a big impact on devices that convert sunlight into electricity and fuel. [ + ]

A weak topological insulator designed by UT Dallas researchers has been lauded as a new way to improve the speed and capability of electronics. [ + ]

A new discovery has turned previously accepted knowledge about ferroelectric materials on its head. Northwestern University researchers have found that a unique class of ferroelectric oxides responds in an unexpected way to stress. [ + ]

Arrow Electronics has awarded AVX Corporation a gold-level Perfect Order Index (POI) Award in the Passive Electromechanical Components Supplier category. [ + ]

Electronic systems such as those used in retail shops to prevent theft pose a significant threat to people with pacemakers and other cardiac devices, a senior medical scientist has said. [ + ]

Australian scientists have demonstrated that pretreating a battery's lithium metal electrodes with an electrolyte salt solution extends the battery life and increases performance and safety. [ + ]

Researchers have developed a new design for X-ray spectrometers that lowers overall production costs and increases the efficiency of X-ray flux. This could lead to faster acquisition times for sample imaging and increased efficiency. [ + ]

Researchers have discovered a cheap way to construct nanomaterials using one of the least inexpensive products in the world: diamonds. [ + ]

STMicroelectronics has announced the publication of its 2015 Sustainability Report, which details the company's sustainability strategy and its 2015 performance. [ + ]

element14 has teamed up with TE Connectivity to offer a comprehensive range of interconnect components to engineers working in harsh, high-capacity, high-impact environments. [ + ]

The development of 'smart glass' is another step closer, with University of Adelaide researchers creating a method of embedding luminescent nanoparticles into glass. The 'hybrid glass' combines the properties of these light-emitting nanoparticles with the properties of glass, such as transparency and the ability to be processed into shapes including very fine optical fibres. [ + ]

Scientists have finally managed to fabricate lasers directly on silicon. Until now, it's been impossible to match up the crystal lattice of silicon and typical laser materials, which has held back the integration of photonics with electronics on the silicon platform. [ + ]

Silicon-carbide power electronics from STMicroelectronics have enabled the creation of the ZapCharger Portable, claimed to be the world's smallest, smartest and safest electric-car charging station. [ + ]

NEC Corporation has announced device-to-device communication technology that enables emergency response personnel to transmit high-quality images from the scene of a disaster or accident when outside of the service area of the public safety long-term evolution (PS-LTE) network. [ + ]