Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
October 2012
From ACM TechNews
Making a Layer Cake With Atomic Precision
University of Manchester researchers have shown that graphene and other one-atom-thick crystals could be used in a wide range of new materials and electronic devices by stacking individual atomic layers on top of each other.…
From ACM TechNews
'Invisibility' Could Be a Key to Better Electronics
MIT researchers have applied the concept of harnessing cloaking mechanisms developed to conceal objects from view to the movement of electrons, which could lead to more efficient thermoelectric devices and new kinds of electronics…
From ACM Careers
Genome Hunters Go After Martian Dna
Two high-profile entrepreneurs say they want to put a DNA sequencing machine on the surface of Mars in a bid to prove the existence of extraterrestrial life.
From ACM TechNews
Enabling Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace
Bowdoin College professor Daniela Oliveira has developed a model to make the Internet safer by leveraging user input.
From ACM TechNews
USC Develops Software to Facilitate Large-Scale Biological Inquiry
USC researchers have developed the ProteoWizard Toolkit, a cross-platform set of libraries and applications designed to facilitate the sharing of raw data and its analysis.
From ACM TechNews
Advanced Computer Simulator Aids in Emergency Service Management
Researchers in the Autonomous University of Barcelona's High Performance Computing for Efficient Applications and Simulation group have devised a computer simulator that could enhance the operations management of emergency service…
From ACM News
Report Sees Decline in Voting Glitches ... but Vote-By-Mail Sparks Concern
The good news about voting technologyis that the upgrades put into place since the controversial 2000 presidential election have made ballot tallies twice as accurate as they were—but the bad news is that the rise of early vote…
From ACM Opinion
Craig Venter Imagines a World with Printable Life Forms
Craig Venter imagines a future where you can download software, print a vaccine, inject it, and presto! Contagion averted.
From ACM News
Inside Google's Sci-Fi Search Experiments
The familiar whistle of a smartphone notification told me that Paco was hungry.
From ACM TechNews
But How Do You Really Feel? Someday the Computer May Know
Affective computing is an emerging technology that aims to give computers the ability to read users' emotions.
From ACM TechNews
Squeeze Your Phone, and Send a Loved One a Hug
Researchers at the Helsinki Institute of Information Technology and Nokia have developed the ForcePhone, a device that can send vibrations back and forth to users who are having a conversation.
From ACM TechNews
At Stanford, Scholars Debate the Promises, Pitfalls of Online Learning
Although online learning has great potential to enhance the education process, Princeton University president emeritus William Bowen cites three obstructions to deployment--little hard data, a lack of shared software platforms…
From ACM TechNews
Next-Gen Touchpads Respond to Pressure
Researchers presenting at the recent User Interface Software Technology conference demonstrated projects that took advantage of Synaptics' new pressure-sensitive "forcepad."
From ACM TechNews
Notre Dame Researcher Helps Make Sudoku Puzzles Less Puzzling
University of Notre Dame researchers have determined why some Sudoku puzzles are harder than others and developed an algorithm that solves them very quickly.
From ACM News
What's Baking on Titan?
Radar images from NASA's Cassini spacecraft reveal some new curiosities on the surface of Saturn's mysterious moon Titan, including a nearly circular feature that resembles a giant hot cross bun and shorelines of ancient seas…
From ACM News
Paging Dr. Watson: Artificial Intelligence As a Prescription For Health Care
Everyone agrees health care in the United States is a colossal mess, and IBM is betting that artificially intelligent supercomputers are just what the doctor ordered. But some health professionals say robodoctors are just flashy…
From ACM News
The Future, as Imagined by Google
In Eric E. Schmidt's future, his life will be a lot easier.
From ACM News
Chips That Melt in Your Body, Not in Your Hands
Welcome to the brave new world of transient electonics.
From ACM Opinion
Why Is This Man Running For President of the Internet?
It's an unseasonably cold early October evening in Lincoln, Nebraska, and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian is giving his elevator pitch to a flustered but rapt woman behind the counter of a fast-food joint, Runza, where he's…
From ACM TechNews
Using Cell Phone Data to Curb the Spread of Malaria
Researchers at HSPH and seven other institutions used cell phone data in Kenya to investigate how people's travel patterns contribute to the spread of malaria.
From ACM TechNews
New Web-Based Model For Sharing Research Datasets Could Have Huge Benefits
Ohio State University researchers recently proposed creating a Web-based data network to help researchers and policymakers use existing knowledge to develop real-world applications and technologies to improve science and innovation…
From ACM TechNews
New Software Tool Helps Utilities Monitor For Network Security
The Sophia software tool created at the U.S. Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory can help network operators spot anomalies that might signal cybersecurity threats or other hazards in time to prevent harm to the system…
From ACM TechNews
Making Crowdsourcing More Reliable
One of the major obstacles in crowdsourcing information gathering is the reliability of collected reports, but researchers at the University of Southampton and the University of California, San Diego say they have developed methods…
From ACM Opinion
Patent Could Shackle 3D Printers with Drm
One of the greatest benefits of 3D printing technology—the ability to make replacements or parts for household objects like toys, utensils and gadgets—may be denied to U.S. citizens thanks to the granting of a sweeping patent…
From ACM News
Ever Wondered What a Live Botnet Looks Like?
The idea of a network of malware-infected zombie computers rigged to do the bidding of criminals conjures up a frightening image on its own. A new visualization of the so-called ZeroAcess botnet shows how alarmingly widespread…
From ACM News
Campaigns Mine Personal Lives to Get Out Vote
Strategists affiliated with the Obama and Romney campaigns say they have access to information about the personal lives of voters at a scale never before imagined.
From ACM Opinion
How I Accidentally Helped Compromise the Secret Keys of High-Security Handcuffs
In the age of freely available modeling software, laser cutters and 3D printers, shapes that must stay secret for security's sake don't stay secret for long. Especially, it turns out, when a reporter wielding an iPhone camera…
From ACM News
Pentagon Scientists: We Can't Predict Violent Outbursts. Yet.
In the years to come, a top group of military scientists believe, the Pentagon may be able to use genomics and bio-markers to spot when a soldier is about to snap.
From ACM News
Leon Panetta on Cybersecurity: D.C. Action Needed
While Joe Biden and Paul Ryan were duking it out last Thursday night over U.S. troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and beyond, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta was warning of another war—in cyberspace.
From ACM News
Precision Espionage Miniflame Malware Tied to Flame, Gauss
One of three previously unseen pieces of malware discovered during forensic analysis of the Flame malware command-and-control servers has been identified as a secondary surveillance tool deployed against specially identified…