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An edited collection of advanced computing news from Communications of the ACM, ACM TechNews, other ACM resources, and news sites around the Web.


Mars Methane Hunt Comes ­p Empty, Flummoxing Scientists
From ACM News

Mars Methane Hunt Comes ­p Empty, Flummoxing Scientists

A spacecraft that was supposed to solve the mystery of methane on Mars has instead compounded scientists' confusion.

Black Hole Pictured for First Time, in Spectacular Detail
From ACM News

Black Hole Pictured for First Time, in Spectacular Detail

Astronomers have finally glimpsed the blackness of a black hole. By stringing together a global network of radio telescopes, they have for the first time produced...

In Bubbles, She Sees a Mathematical ­niverse
From ACM News

In Bubbles, She Sees a Mathematical ­niverse

On the evening of March 19, the mathematician Karen Uhlenbeck gathered with revelers at the Institute for Advanced Study for a champagne reception.

Machines That Read Your Brain Waves
From ACM News

Machines That Read Your Brain Waves

Sometimes a technology that's been simmering in the laboratory or the clinic for decades makes the leap to mainstream consumption almost overnight.

AI Pioneer: 'The Dangers of Abuse Are Very Real'
From ACM Opinion

AI Pioneer: 'The Dangers of Abuse Are Very Real'

Yoshua Bengio is one of three computer scientists who last week shared the US$1-million A. M. Turing award—one of the field's top prizes.

Ethiopian Air Pilots Turned Off 737 MAX Anti-Stall System. Then It Turned On Again
From ACM News

Ethiopian Air Pilots Turned Off 737 MAX Anti-Stall System. Then It Turned On Again

The pilots of Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 apparently followed the proper steps to shut down an errant flight control system as they struggled to regain control...

The Animal-AI Olympics Is Going to Treat AI Like a Lab Rat
From ACM News

The Animal-AI Olympics Is Going to Treat AI Like a Lab Rat

In one of Aesop's fables, a thirsty crow finds a pitcher with a small amount of water beyond the reach of its beak.

Hospital Viruses: Fake Cancerous Nodes in CT Scans, Created by Malware, Trick Radiologists
From ACM News

Hospital Viruses: Fake Cancerous Nodes in CT Scans, Created by Malware, Trick Radiologists

When Hillary Clinton stumbled and coughed through public appearances during her 2016 presidential run, she faced critics who said that she might not be well enough...

Something on Mars Is Producing Gas ­sually Made by Living Things on Earth
From ACM News

Something on Mars Is Producing Gas ­sually Made by Living Things on Earth

Methane gas periodically wafts into the atmosphere of Mars; that notion, once considered implausible and perplexing, is now widely accepted by planetary scientists...

Toyota Robot Can't Slam Dunk but Shoots a Mean 3-Pointer
From ACM News

Toyota Robot Can't Slam Dunk but Shoots a Mean 3-Pointer

It can't dribble, let alone slam dunk, but Toyota's basketball robot hardly ever misses a free throw or a 3-pointer.

NASA's Mars Helicopter Completes Flight Tests
From ACM News

NASA's Mars Helicopter Completes Flight Tests

Since the Wright brothers first took to the skies of Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, Dec. 17, 1903, first flights have been important milestones in the life of...

Initial Findings Put Boeing's Software at Center of Ethiopian 737 Crash
From ACM News

Initial Findings Put Boeing's Software at Center of Ethiopian 737 Crash

At a high-level briefing at the Federal Aviation Administration on March 28, officials revealed "black box" data from Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 indicated that...

Asteroids, Hydrogen Make Great Recipe for Life on Mars
From ACM News

Asteroids, Hydrogen Make Great Recipe for Life on Mars

A new study reveals asteroid impacts on ancient Mars could have produced key ingredients for life if the Martian atmosphere was rich in hydrogen.

Warnings of a Dark Side to A.I. in Health Care
From ACM News

Warnings of a Dark Side to A.I. in Health Care

Last year, the Food and Drug Administration approved a device that can capture an image of your retina and automatically detect signs of diabetic blindness.

How Cutting-Edge Technology Helps Basketball Players Shoot
From ACM News

How Cutting-Edge Technology Helps Basketball Players Shoot

As a freshman last season at Michigan, Isaiah Livers shot 36 percent from 3-point range. Decent, but not great.

Russia Wants to Cut Itself Off from the Global Internet. Here's What that Really Means.
From ACM News

Russia Wants to Cut Itself Off from the Global Internet. Here's What that Really Means.

In the next two weeks, Russia is planning to attempt something no other country has tried before. It's going to test whether it can disconnect from the rest of...

Despite ­.S. Pressure, Germany Refuses to Exclude Huawei's 5G Technology
From ACM News

Despite ­.S. Pressure, Germany Refuses to Exclude Huawei's 5G Technology

The race to build the next generation of super-fast mobile-data networks has begun in Germany, which started auctioning off its spectrum licenses for 5G on Tuesday...

Stanford Helped Pioneer Artificial Intelligence. Now the University Wants to Put Humans at Its Center.
From ACM News

Stanford Helped Pioneer Artificial Intelligence. Now the University Wants to Put Humans at Its Center.

A Stanford University scientist coined the term artificial intelligence. Others at the university created some of the most significant applications of it, such...

The ­ncanny Valley Nobody's Talking About: Eerie Robot Voices
From ACM Opinion

The ­ncanny Valley Nobody's Talking About: Eerie Robot Voices

Call it the Great Convergence of Creepiness. The first bit, the uncanny valley, we're all familiar with by now: If a humanoid robot looks super realistic, but not...

China Is Catching ­p to the ­S in A.I. Research, Fast
From ACM News

China Is Catching ­p to the ­S in A.I. Research, Fast

At the world's top computer-vision conference last June, Google and Apple sponsored an academic contest that challenged algorithms to make sense of images from...
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