Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
February 2022
From ACM TechNews
Genetic Database to Identify Missing Persons in El Salvador
A new genetic database was created to identify people who went missing or were adopted illegally during the 1980-1992 war in El Salvador.
From ACM TechNews
Wearable Sensors for COVID-19 Mitigation
Researchers have demonstrated the potential of digital contact tracing technology in mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic by modeling wearable sensor deployments.
From ACM TechNews
Quantum Errors Made More Tolerable
Physicists have demonstrated the ability to extend the longevity of quantum states and expand tolerance of quantum errors, both crucial to quantum computing.
From ACM News
MIT Develops New Programming Language for High-Performance Computers
With a tensor language prototype, "speed and correctness do not have to compete … they can go together, hand-in-hand."
From ACM TechNews
Honeywell H1 Beats Classical System at Game Designed to Test Quantum Mechanics
Researchers used a collaborative mathematical game to determine whether different systems demonstrated quantum mechanical properties.
From ACM TechNews
Thanks to Glitch, Some Seattle Mazda Drivers Can't Tune Their Radios Away from KUOW
Some Seattle-area drivers in Mazdas are finding that the HD Radios in their vehicles will only play KUOW 94.9 FM, the National Public Radio station.
From ACM TechNews
Technique Smooths Path for 'Federated Learning' AI Training in Wireless Devices
A new technique allows the use of federated learning to train artificial intelligence systems on wireless devices.
From ACM News
Google Chrome—Emergency Security Update For 3.2 Billion
Google routinely restricts in-depth information until a majority of users have had the chance to apply the update, which will be rolled out in the near future.
From ACM News
Zuckerberg's Metaverse Will Require Computing Tech No One Knows How to Build
To achieve what metaverse boosters promise, experts believe nearly every kind of chip will have to be an order of magnitude more powerful than it is today.
From ACM News
Trying On Smart Clothes
Smart clothing is coming into fashion.
From ACM News
Scientists Created a Cyborg Fish Powered by Beating Human Heart Cells
The fish's design features a flexible tail that's covered in a layer of heart muscle cells (cardiomyocytes derived from stem cells) on each side.
From ACM News
Hackers Rigged Hundreds of Ecommerce Sites to Steal Payment Info
The attackers exploited a known vulnerability and installed credit card skimmers on more than 500 websites.
From ACM TechNews
AI Pioneer Judea Pearl Receives BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award
UCLA Samueli School of Engineering
Judea Pearl at the University of California, Los Angeles has received Spain's 2021 Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the information and communication…
From ACM TechNews
Fingerprinting the IoT
Carnegie Mellon University researchers strengthened the security of Internet of Things devices by making them more resilient against exploitation.
From ACM TechNews
Scientists Develop Fully Woven Smart Display
An international team of researchers led by the U.K.'s University of Cambridge has fabricated a fully woven prototype smart textile display.
From ACM TechNews
Remote Sensing Technology Reduces Urban Air Pollution
Researchers found that a city’s use of a remote emissions sensing system could significantly improve that city’s air quality.
From ACM TechNews
Computer Model Shows Best Ways to Slow the Spread of COVID-19
A new computational model is the first to simulate numerous variables impacting COVID-19 transmission, in an effort to slow the spread of variants.
From ACM TechNews
AI Efficiently Fixes Mistakes in Error-Prone Quantum Computers
Artificial intelligence can eliminate errors from a group of quantum bits, thanks to researchers at Germany's RWTH Aachen University.
From ACM TechNews
Black Hawk Helicopter Flies Without Pilot on Board
A Black Hawk helicopter recently performed its first autonomous flight at Fort Campbell in Kentucky.
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Make Chip That Can Be Rewired Like the Human Brain
The invention of a reprogrammable-on-demand electronic chip could eventually lead to the creation a computer that learns continuously, like the human brain.
From ACM News
Secret CIA Bulk Surveillance Program Includes Some Americans' Records, Senators Say
The lawmakers called for the immediate declassification of details about the surveillance program and what data was collected.
From ACM News
Apple Says It Will Make AirTags Easier to Find After Complaints of Stalking
The $29 devices have become a headache for the company.
From ACM News
Meta Is Calling Out Google Over Apple's App Privacy Rules
Facebook's owner is hit hard by the new rules, while Google is largely spared.
From ACM News
'Full Self-Driving' Clips Show Teslas on Train Tracks and Fighting for Control
The Washington Post verified Full Self-Driving footage posted by beta testers and had it reviewed by a panel of experts.
From ACM TechNews
Robots Give Surgeons a Helping Hand
About 6,700 Da Vinci robots in place at hospitals across the globe have performed more than 10 million surgical procedures.
From ACM TechNews
AI System Rapidly Predicts How Two Proteins Will Attach
An artificial intelligence model can forecast the binding configuration of two proteins.
From ACM TechNews
Getting Better Performance From Brains, Computers
Tufts University researchers have proposed two methods for boosting the efficiency of brain and computational performance.
From ACM TechNews
Exploring the Strategies of Categorization
A novel methodology using pigeons has uncovered universal principles in categorization learning.
From ACM News
Plastic Chips Bend Computing
Cheap, flexible processors could be a step on the road to the Internet of Everything.
From ACM TechNews
Satellite Images Show Biggest Methane Leaks Come From Russia, U.S.
A multinational team determined that methane "ultra-emitter" sites account for about a tenth of the oil and gas industry's global methane emissions.