Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
February 2019
From ACM News
Four New DNA Letters Double Life's Alphabet
The DNA of life on Earth naturally stores its information in just four key chemicals—guanine, cytosine, adenine and thymine, commonly referred to as G, C, A and T, respectively.
From ACM TechNews
After a Baby, 28% of New Parents Leave Full-Time STEM Work
After science, technology, engineering, and math professionals become parents, 43% of women and 23% of men change fields, become part-timers, or exit the workforce.
From ACM TechNews
'Tags' Let Your Phone Spot Counterfeit Stuff
A new system to prevent product counterfeiting gives individual items a unique label or "tag."
From ACM TechNews
A Crucial Step for Averting AI Disasters
Although technology companies are trying to recruit women and minorities, most computer and software professionals writing artificial intelligence programs remain white and male.
From ACM TechNews
Virtual Makeovers Are Better Than Ever. Beauty Companies Are Trying to Cash In
Augmented reality is being pushed to the mainstream by apps in the beauty industry that serve as a consumer tool for trying on makeup.
From ACM TechNews
Audi's In-Car Information System Helps Drivers Avoid Red Lights
Audi's Traffic Light Information system can alert drivers to imminent red lights and other traffic signals.
From ACM News
Japan's Hayabusa2 Craft Touches Down on Asteroid Ryugu
It was a brief but historic tap on the surface of the asteroid Ryugu, at 7:29 am Japan time on 22 February. The Hayabusa2 spacecraft touched down at its target location, where it shot a projectile at the surface.
From ACM News
Huawei Founder Says S Treats 5G Like 'Military' Tech
Huawei boss Ren Zhengfei is downplaying the idea that there's danger in his company's taking a lead role as 5G networks become a widespread reality.
From ACM News
InSight Is the Newest Mars Weather Service
No matter how cold your winter has been, it's probably not as chilly as Mars. Check for yourself: Starting today, the public can get a daily weather report from NASA's InSight lander.
From ACM TechNews
AI Shows Promise as Physician Assistant
Researchers in the U.S. and China have developed a system that uses artificial intelligence to automatically diagnose common childhood conditions.
From ACM TechNews
North Dakota Looks to Teach Students About Cybersecurity
North Dakota wants to provide statewide student access to computer science and cybersecurity courses.
From ACM TechNews
Robots Track Moving Objects With nprecedented Precision
Researchers are employing radio-frequency identification tags to help track moving objects with unprecedented accuracy and speed.
From ACM TechNews
Meet Europe's 30 nder 30 in Technology 2019: Blossoming of a Talent Garden
Young European entrepreneurs ranked in Forbes' latest 30 Under 30 list are pushing the envelope of artificial intelligence applications for consumers and companies.
From ACM News
ETH Zurich nveils the Future
Looking ahead to 2050 in electronics, robotics, and new materials.
From ACM News
For Gamers With Disabilities, Creative Controllers Open Worlds
Erin Hawley grew up immersed in video games, progressing from Pong on the Atari 2600 to Sonic the Hedgehog on the Sega Genesis to Tomb Raider on the Sony PlayStation.
From ACM News
Researchers, Scared by Their Own Work, Hold Back 'Deepfakes for Text' AI
OpenAI, a non-profit research company investigating "the path to safe artificial intelligence," has developed a machine learning system called Generative Pre-trained Transformer-2 (GPT-2 ), capable of generating text based on…
From ACM TechNews
Is That a Robot? Dr. Bear Bot Helps Care for Kids at Local Hospital
Children's National Health System in Washington, D.C., is the first pediatric hospital to deploy a remote-monitoring virtual liaison robot in its cardiac intensive care unit.
From ACM TechNews
These Android Apps Have Been Tracking You, Even When You Say Stop
International Computer Science Institute researchers estimated that about 17,000 Android apps collect identifying information.
From ACM TechNews
The AI That Can Write Fake News Stories From Handful of Words
The OpenAI research group has demonstrated artificial intelligence that can compose authentic-looking fake news articles from a few fragments of information.
From ACM TechNews
Call to Ban Killer Robots in Wars
A scientific coalition is urging a ban on the development of weapons governed by artificial intelligence.
From ACM TechNews
Coffee Farmers Bet on Blockchain to Boost Business
A report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization says blockchain technology could address challenges faced by smallholder coffee farmers.
From ACM TechNews
Renewable Energy Generation With Kites and Drones
Researchers have developed software for analyzing energy-generation systems based on kites and drones.
From ACM News
The Two Codes Your Kids Need to Know
The College Board came up with a surprising conclusion about keys to success for college and life. By Thomas L. Friedman, Opinion Columnist.
From ACM News
Scientist Warns Against Discoveries Made With AI
Inaccurate findings are being made in some areas of biomedical research.
From ACM News
Farmworker vs Robot
Both human and machine have 10 seconds per plant. They must find the ripe strawberries in the leaves, gently twist them off the stems and tuck them into a plastic clamshell. Repeat, repeat, repeat, before the fruit spoils.
From ACM News
NASA Selects New Mission to Explore Origins of niverse
NASA has selected a new space mission that will help astronomers understand both how our universe evolved and how common are the ingredients for life in our galaxy's planetary systems.
From ACM Opinion
The S Cannot Crush s, Says Huawei Founder
The founder of Huawei has said there is "no way the US can crush" the company, in an exclusive interview with the BBC.
From ACM News
The Secret History of Women in Coding
Computer programming once had much better gender balance than it does today. What went wrong?
From ACM News
Gravitational-Wave Observatory LIGO Set to Double Its Detecting Power
Spotting gravitational waves is due to become an almost hourly event in the next decade. Starting around 2023, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) will undergo its most significant upgrade since 2015…
From ACM News
An AI that Writes Convincing Prose Risks Mass-Producing Fake News
Here's some breaking fake news … Russia has declared war on the United States after Donald Trump accidentally fired a missile in the air.