Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
November 2014
From ACM TechNews
New Tech Aims to Improve Communication Between Dogs and Humans
Researchers have developed a suite of technologies that can be used to enhance communication between dogs and humans.
From ACM News
European Genetic Identity May Stretch Back 36,000 Years
Europeans carry a motley mix of genes from at least three ancient sources: indigenous hunter-gatherers within Europe, people from the Middle East, and northwest Asians from near the Great Steppe of eastern Europe and central…
From ACM News
Half of Stars Lurk Outside Galaxies
Astronomers have spotted a faint cosmic glow, unseen until now, that may come from stars that float adrift between galaxies.
From ACM News
Computer Scientists Say Meme Research Doesn't Threaten Free Speech
U.S. House lawmakers go viral over information diffusion study funded by the feds.
From ACM News
Fmri Data Reveals the Number of Parallel Processes Running in the Brain
The human brain is often described as a massively parallel computing machine. That raises an interesting question: just how parallel is it?
From ACM News
How Gravity Explains Why Time Never Runs Backward
We can't avoid the passing of time, even at the DMV, where time seems to come to a standstill.
From ACM Careers
A Better Way to Slice the Pie
Splitting a check, an inheritance or credit for an idea are activities of daily life that are filled with potential pitfalls.
From ACM TechNews
Graduate Student Exploring Ways to Make Riding a Motorcycle Safer Using Connected Driving Data
Researchers are studying the use of connected-vehicle technology and naturalistic driving research to reduce crashes involving motorcycles.
From ACM TechNews
Mozilla Woos Programmers With Plans for a Webdev Browser
On Monday, the Mozilla Foundation will launch a version of its Firefox browser that will enable developers to build Web pages and applications.
From ACM TechNews
In Sync: Researchers Discover Way to Coordinate Different Types of Robots
A new way to allow different types of robots to coordinate with each other could lead to improvements in areas like search and rescue after a disaster.
From ACM News
Ghost Universes Kill Schrödinger's Quantum Cat
The wave function has collapsed—permanently.
From ACM News
Animals Add a New Dimension to Human-Computer Interaction
A new conference convenes to consider Animal Human Computer Interaction.
From ACM News
Carnegie Mellon's Inflatable Robotic Arm Inspires Design of Disney's Latest Character
When Don Hall saw a robot arm made of balloons while visiting Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute several years ago, he knew instantly that Baymax, a pivotal character in the animated feature he was co-directing for…
From ACM News
Nasa's Curiosity Mars Rover Finds Mineral Match
Reddish rock powder from the first hole drilled into a Martian mountain by NASA's Curiosity rover has yielded the mission's first confirmation of a mineral mapped from orbit.
From ACM News
Self-Driving Car Advocates Tangle With Messy Morality
Sure, dealing with lane changes, firetrucks and construction projects is difficult for engineers building self-driving cars. But what about deciding which people to kill when an accident is unavoidable?
From ACM TechNews
Computers Are Learning to See the World Like We Do
On the website Park or Bird on Flickr, a computer makes an educated guess as to whether a photograph was taken in a national park or shows a bird.
From ACM TechNews
Movement Improves Girls' Computational Skills
Clemson University researchers say Virtual Environment Interactions offers an embodied strategy to engage fifth- and sixth-grade girls in computational thinking.
From ACM TechNews
Running Robots of Future May Learn From World’s Best Two-Legged Runners: Birds
A study of how birds run while minimizing energy cost, avoiding falls or injury, and maintaining speed and direction could help in developing better running robots.
From ACM TechNews
Computer Game Could Help Visually-Impaired Children Live Independently
Researchers say a new computer game could help visually-impaired children lead independent lives.
From ACM TechNews
Computer Scientists Say Meme Research Doesn't Threaten Free Speech
The heads of five of the U.S.'s largest computing research organizations are refuting political attacks on research on what makes ideas go viral, particularly on Twitter.
From ACM TechNews
The New Thing in Google Flu Trends Is Traditional Data
Google is overhauling its Flu Trends service to harness more traditional medical data, which has long been used to track and predict the flu season.
From ACM News
New Clock May End Time As We Know It
"My own personal opinion is that time is a human construct," says Tom O'Brian.
From ACM News
One Arrow of Time to Rule Them All?
Time is something we're all very aware of.
From ACM Careers
Investments Boost Neurotechnology Career Prospects
Mark Cembrowski was a graduate student in applied mathematics with a taste for neurobiology at Northwestern University when he discovered a way to marry his two interests.
From ACM News
How Wikipedia Data Is Revolutionizing Flu Forecasting
This time last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta launched a competition to find the best way to forecast the characteristics of the 2013–2014 influenza season using data gathered from the Internet…
From ACM TechNews
Ccc ncertainty in Computation Workshop
The Computing Community Consortium's recent Uncertainty in Computation Visioning Workshop gathered more than 40 scientists from different disciplines.
From ACM TechNews
New Smart Key Software Enhances Security For Homes and Businesses
A software-based electronic smart key system developed by U.K. computer scientists and security specialists offers a more flexible security system.
From ACM TechNews
The Shortage of Women in STEM Explained
There is a significant shortage of skilled U.S. women pursuing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields, writes SolidWorks' Marie Planchard.
From ACM News
Verizon, At&t Tracking Their Users with 'supercookies'
Verizon and AT&T have been quietly tracking the Internet activity of more than 100 million cellular customers with what critics have dubbed "supercookies"—markers so powerful that it's difficult for even savvy users to escape…
From ACM News
Cornell Biennial Celebrates Nanotech as Art
Scientists and artists display the blending of their interests.