Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
March 2017
From ACM TechNews
Creation of Highly Magnetic Material Could Improve Computer Technologies
Researchers in the U.K. have developed a highly magnetic material that could provide fundamental improvements to the performance of conventional computer technologies.
From ACM TechNews
So Long Stiffness: Stanford Engineers se Soup Additive to Create a Stretchable Plastic Electrode
Stanford University researchers have demonstrated how to take a brittle plastic and modify it chemically to make it much more flexible, while slightly enhancing its electrical conductivity.
From ACM TechNews
Engineers Devise Two-Way Radio on a Single Chip
Researchers say they have developed a method for transmitting and receiving a radio signal on a single chip.
From ACM News
In Black Box Algorithms We Trust (or Do We?)
Some issues that arise from the use of algorithms may be due to the data they are fed, rather than their black-box nature.
From ACM News
What If Quantum Computers sed Hard Drives Made of Dna?
You've heard the hype: The quantum computer revolution is coming. Physicists say these devices will be fast enough to break every encryption method banks use today.
From ACM TechNews
Is Reliable Artificial Intelligence Possible?
Artificial intelligence technology should be openly available, according to researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne in France.
From ACM TechNews
Hkbu Scholar Invents World's First 'lip Password:' A Patented Double Security System For Identity Authentication
Researchers at Hong Kong Baptist University have developed new technology that utilizes a person's lip motions to create a password.
From ACM TechNews
Why We Should Not Know Our Own Passwords
There is active research transpiring in the area of unknowable password development.
From ACM TechNews
Doubts About Whether Internet Filters Protect Teenagers Online
Researchers surveyed 515 teenagers and their parents about whether they used technical tools to control or manage access to online content.
From ACM TechNews
Nanoscale Logic Machines Go Beyond Binary Computing
An international team of academic researchers has built minuscule logic machines that physically model computational problems and exploit the innate randomness of nanoscale systems.
From ACM TechNews
Scientists Develop a System That Predicts the Behavior of Tsunamis in Less Than 10 Minutes
Researchers at the University of Granada in Spain say they have developed a simulator that needs only 10 minutes to predict the behavior of tsunamis generated by landslides.
From ACM News
It's Possible to Hack a Phone With Sound Waves, Researchers Show
A security loophole that would allow someone to add extra steps to the counter on your Fitbit monitor might seem harmless. But researchers say it points to the broader risks that come with technology's embedding into the nooks…
From ACM News
Synthetic Yeast Chromosomes Help Probe Mysteries of Evolution
Evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould once pondered what would happen if the cassette "tape of life" were rewound and played again.
From ACM News
Vint Cerf: It's On All of S to Fight Online Abuse, Fake News
The father of the internet says social pressure -- people collectively saying, "This is wrong" -- is crucial to battling misinformation and harassment.
From ACM TechNews
Floods and Hurricanes Predicted With Social Media
Social media can be used to warn people about floods, hurricanes, and other extreme weather events before they transpire by focusing on photos and keywords posted online.
From ACM TechNews
Girls Now Outnumber Boys in High School Stem, but Still Lag in College and Career
Although girls currently comprise about 50% of the enrollment in U.S. high school science and math classes, they still lag their male counterparts in college and the workplace in terms of participation in science, technology,…
From ACM TechNews
Quantum Computer Learns to 'see' Trees
St. Mary's College researchers trained a quantum computer to recognize trees, a breakthrough they say could help scientists use other quantum systems for complicated machine-learning problems such as pattern recognition and computer…
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Create 'time Crystals' Envisioned By Princeton Scientists
Researchers at Harvard University and the University of Maryland have generated time crystals based on the theoretical work of Princeton University scientists.
From ACM TechNews
Tim Berners-Lee: I Invented the Web. Here Are Three Things We Need to Change to Save It
World Wide Web pioneer Sir Tim Berners-Lee warns of three trends to be overcome in order to sustain the Web as beneficial for everyone.
From ACM News
The Quest to Crystallize Time
Christopher Monroe spends his life poking at atoms with light.
From ACM News
Cassini Reveals Strange Shape of Saturn's Moon Pan
These raw, unprocessed images of Saturn's tiny moon, Pan, were taken on March 7, 2017, by NASA's Cassini spacecraft. The flyby had a close-approach distance of 24,572 kilometers (15,268 miles).
From ACM TechNews
Sharing the Fares
The potential for urban ride-sharing is similar for a variety of cities all over the world.
From ACM TechNews
Codella Aims to Teach Latina Girls Another Vital Language: Coding
The Miami, FL-based CODeLLA project was launched in 2013 to encourage Latina girls ages 8-12 to explore careers in science, technology, engineering, and math.
From ACM TechNews
Artificial Intelligence and Robots to Make Offshore Wind Farms Safer and Cheaper
A consortium in the U.K. is investigating artificial intelligence and other technologies to enhance offshore wind farms.
From ACM TechNews
Brainlike Computers Are a Black Box. Scientists Are Finally Peering Inside
Researchers say they have developed a method for examining neural networks as they operate and visualizing how they reach conclusions.
From ACM TechNews
Counting Microbes on a Smartphone
Researchers have developed a smartphone app which they say provides a cost-effective and accurate alternative to the traditionally labor-intensive task of counting bacterial colonies on a culture.
From ACM News
Can Amazon Echo Help Solve a Murder? Police Will Soon Find Out.
A 2015 Arkansas murder case that had raised privacy questions surrounding "always-on" electronic home devices took a step forward last week after Amazon agreed to release recordings from the murder defendant's Amazon Echo as …
From ACM News
New Nasa Radar Technique Finds Lost Lunar Spacecraft
Finding derelict spacecraft and space debris in Earth's orbit can be a technological challenge.
From ACM TechNews
Amoeba-Like Robot Programmed With Dna
Researchers have developed a tiny robotic system that is programmed and controlled by DNA and moves like a living cell.
From ACM TechNews
New Deep Learning Techniques Analyze Athletes' Decision-Making
A new automated method based on deep-learning techniques will provide coaches and teams with a tool to help assess defensive athletic performance in all game situations.