Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
January 2014
From ACM News
An Open Letter from .s. Researchers in Cryptography and Information Security
Leading members of the U.S. cryptography and information-security research communities express their outrage over U.S. surveillance practices.
From ACM News
Scientists Detect 'spoiled Onions' Trying to Sabotage Tor Privacy Network
Computer scientists have identified almost two dozen computers that were actively working to sabotage the Tor privacy network by carrying out attacks that can degrade encrypted connections between end users and the websites or…
From ACM News
Herschel Telescope Detects Water on Dwarf Planet
Scientists using the Herschel space observatory have made the first definitive detection of water vapor on the largest and roundest object in the asteroid belt, Ceres.
From ACM News
kraine Tracks Protesters Through Cellphones
The Ukrainian government used telephone technology to pinpoint the locations of cellphones in use near clashes between riot police officers and protesters early on Tuesday, illustrating that techniques that can be used to target…
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Plan to se Nano-Satellites as Space Traffic Cops
Researchers are developing a team of small satellites that will serve as traffic cops in space.
From ACM TechNews
New Accelerated Visualization and Data Analytics Resources For Open Science Community
The University of Texas at Austin this month will deploy Maverick, a high-performance visualization and data analytics system that will replace the Longhorn system.
From ACM TechNews
Peeking Into Schrodinger's Box
Researchers have used the direct measurement method to measure a 27-dimensional quantum state in a single experiment with no post-processing.
From ACM TechNews
Silver Nanowire Sensors Hold Promise For Prosthetics, Robotics
Silver nanowires have been used to develop wearable, multifunctional sensors that can measure strain, pressure, human touch, and electrocardiograms.
From ACM News
STEM Festival Aims To Enthrall The Young With Robot Zoo
The USA Science & Engineering Festival this year will include a "Robot Zoo" where robot-builders can show their creations.
From ACM News
Google's Quantum Computer Flunks Landmark Speed Test
Google's quantum revolution is still in the slow lane.
From ACM News
Laser Looks nder the Surface of Art
Chemists have unveiled a technique that can get under the skin of paintings to provide a three-dimensional analysis of the old masters' works without causing any damage.
From ACM News
Seeing Things: A New Transparent Display System Could Provide Heads-up Data
Transparent displays have a variety of potential applications—such as the ability to see navigation or dashboard information while looking through the windshield of a car or plane, or to project video onto a window or a pair…
From ACM TechNews
Byu's Smart Object Recognition Algorithm Doesn't Need Humans
Researchers say they have developed an algorithm that can accurately identify objects in images or video sequences without human calibration.
From ACM TechNews
Academics Devise Formula to Gauge How Well .s. Regulators Listen
RegRank is an algorithm that measures how well public feedback is received and incorporated into the rules for Wall Street traders.
From ACM TechNews
Superconducting Spintronics Pave Way For Next-Generation Computing
Researchers say they have demonstrated that supercomputers could be used as an energy-efficient source for spin-based devices.
From ACM TechNews
Prof. Ozgur Baris Akan of Koc niversity Receives 1.8 Million Euro Grant By European Research Council
Koc University professor Ozgur Baris Akan recently received the European Research Council's first Consolidator Grant.
From ACM TechNews
Probing Bitcoins
Researchers recently examined how Bitcoins have been used since their introduction.
From ACM Opinion
Why Bitcoin Matters
A mysterious new technology emerges, seemingly out of nowhere, but actually the result of two decades of intense research and development by nearly anonymous researchers.
From ACM TechNews
DARPA in 2014: Director Arati Prabhakar Looks Ahead
U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency director Arati Prabhakar says the agency has remained focused on its mission since its inception in 1958.
From ACM News
Target Got Hacked Hard in 2005. Here's Why They Let It Happen Again
A gang of shadowy hackers tears through the systems of big-box retailers, making off with millions of credit and debit card numbers in a matter of weeks and generating headlines around the country.
From ACM TechNews
Natural 3D Counterpart to Graphene Discovered
Researchers have discovered that sodium bismuthate can exist as a form of quantum matter called a three-dimensional topological Dirac semi-metal.
From ACM Careers
'have You Ever Been on a Boat?' and 15 Other Weird Interview Questions from Tech Firms
Looking for a new job?
From ACM TechNews
Houston, We Have Ants: Mimicking How Ants Adjust to Microgravity in Space Could Lead to Better Robots, Stanford Scientist Says
Sending ants to the International Space Station could help determine how they change the algorithms that modulate their group behavior in an exotic environment.
From ACM TechNews
Idc Study Counts the World's Developers: 11 Million Pros
There are about 18.5 million software developers in the world, including about 7.5 million hobbyists, according to research firm IDC.
From ACM News
Seals Are Scientists' Little Helpers For Collecting Ocean Data
In recruiting a research team, some scientists would do well to include a few seals. Over the past ten years, around 350 of these blubbery mammals—mostly elephant seals, but also Weddell and crabeater seals—have been outfitted…
From ACM News
Amazon Wants to Ship Your Package Before You Buy It
Amazon.com knows you so well it wants to ship your next package before you order it.
From ACM News
Esa's 'sleeping Beauty' Wakes p from Deep Space Hibernation
It was a fairy-tale ending to a tense chapter in the story of the Rosetta space mission this evening as ESA heard from its distant spacecraft for the first time in 31 months.
From ACM News
Computer Techniques Aim to Save Animals from Experiments
"Organs on a chip" and quantitative structure–activity relationship modeling are among the technologies increasingly standing in for animal testing.
From ACM News
Public Remains 'All Over the Map' on NSA Tactics
President Barack Obama isn't the only one struggling to balance national security and civil liberties with the country's post-Sept. 11 surveillance programs.
From ACM News
Marvin Minsky Honored For Lifetime Achievements in Artificial Intelligence
MIT Media Lab professor emeritus Marvin Minsky, 86, a pioneer in the field of artificial intelligence, has won the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the information and communications technologies category.