Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
April 2017
From ACM Careers
Why Is Russia So Good at Encouraging Women Into Tech?
Irina Khoroshko, from Zelenograd near Moscow, had learned her times tables by the age of five.
From ACM TechNews
Chatbots Have Entered the ncanny Valley
The tendency for people to be repelled by increasingly humanoid and human-like robots may extend to chatbots and digital assistants as well.
From ACM TechNews
A Better Understanding of Brain Health at Our (bionic) Fingertips
The European Union-funded NANOBIOTOUCH and NEBIAS projects examined how touch stimuli and neural processing interact cs more intuitive.
From ACM TechNews
Not Stuck on Silicon
Researchers have developed a new technique they say could reduce the overall cost of wafer technology.
From ACM TechNews
Rechargeable 'spin Battery' Promising For Spintronics and Quantum Computing
Researchers at Purdue University have produced a rechargeable "spin battery" from topological insulators.
From ACM TechNews
This Artificial Intelligence Turns Horses Into Zebras--and Winter Into Summer
A new model enables users to transform images in a "cycle consistent" way, so any changes to the original image are expected to remain fully reversible.
From ACM TechNews
Teaching a Driverless Car to Turn Left
Getting driverless cars to make safe left turns at intersections is a key challenge for engineers, as they involve both psychology and technology.
From ACM News
Dna's Secret Weapon Against Knots and Tangles
Leonid Mirny swivels in his office chair and grabs the power cord for his laptop.
From ACM News
On Venus, Tectonics Without the Plates
As we've explored the Solar System, some items we're familiar with from Earth's geology have kept appearing in new places.
From ACM TechNews
Twin Research Reveals Which Facial Features Are Most Controlled By Genetics
Researchers at King's College London in the U.K. reviewed three-dimensional facial simulations of about 1,000 female twins, and found the shapes of specific facial features were highly shaped by genetics.
From ACM TechNews
t Researcher Creates Robotic Cheetah
Researchers are developing a scaled-down robotic version of a cheetah that uses only about 15% more energy than the real animal.
From ACM TechNews
Pinning Down Abuse on Google Maps
A collaboration between researchers at the University of California, San Diego and Google has enabled the Internet company to reduce the number of fraudulent businesses in Google Maps by 70%.
From ACM TechNews
Our Ability to Keep 'em Guessing Peaks Around Age 25
People's ability to behave randomly reaches its zenith at age 25, and then gradually erodes before experiencing a swift decline at age 60.
From ACM TechNews
What Netflix Can Teach S About Treating Cancer
Johns Hopkins University professor Elana Fertig details her research to enhance precision medicine in cancer, using the techniques developed for finding patterns in Netflix movie ratings.
From ACM News
Nasa's Mars Rover Opportunity Leaves 'tribulation'
NASA's senior Mars rover, Opportunity, is departing "Cape Tribulation," a crater-rim segment it has explored since late 2014, southbound for its next destination, "Perseverance Valley."
From ACM News
Harry Huskey, Pioneering Computer Scientist, Is Dead at 101
Huskey was a pioneering computer scientist who worked on early computing systems, and later helped universities around the world establish computer centers and computer science programs.
From ACM Careers
50 Years Ago, a Computer Pioneer Got a New York Subway Race Rolling
Fifty years ago, Peter Samson, one of the inventors of Spacewar, considered the world's first video game, began another craze underground.
From ACM News
'space Fabric' Links Fashion and Engineering
Raul Polit Casillas grew up around fabrics. His mother is a fashion designer in Spain, and, at a young age, he was intrigued by how materials are used for design.
From ACM Careers
Find Out If a Robot Will Take Your Job
At a community college in upstate New York, 12 cafeteria workers recently learned that they will lose their jobs—and be replaced by self-serve machines.
From ACM TechNews
Pattern Discovery Over Pattern Recognition: A New Way For Computers to See
Researchers are designing machine-learning systems to enable supercomputers to identify large-scale atmospheric structures in climate data.
From ACM TechNews
Motor Neurons Adjust to Control Tasks
Researchers have found that motor cortical neurons optimally adjust how they encode movements in a task-specific manner.
From ACM TechNews
Cyber Threat Info Sharing Made Easier
The next iteration of the Structured Threat Information eXchange machine-to-machine cyberthreat information-sharing language is nearing completion.
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Harness Heat to Power Computers
Researchers say they have developed a nano-thermal-mechanical device that could help computers use heat as an alternative energy source.
From ACM News
From Coal to Code
Coal miners find new lives as programmers.
From ACM News
Could the S Take Out North Korea's Missiles Before Launch?
A failed missile launch in North Korea Sunday has brought renewed attention to reports that the United States is trying to degrade North Korea's missile capabilities via hacking.
From ACM Opinion
Introducing 'operator 4.0,' A tech-Augmented Human worker
The Fourth Industrial Revolution has arrived.
From ACM TechNews
Can a Supercomputing Algorithm Kill Gerrymandering?
A new supercomputing algorithm can determine whether state legislative districts have been unfairly drawn, with the potential of reshaping U.S. electoral politics.
From ACM TechNews
Deep Learning Tells Giraffes From Gazelles in the Serengeti
Researchers used a database of 3.2 million photos to train a deep-learning system to distinguish between 48 animal species.
From ACM TechNews
Internet Atlas Maps the Physical Internet to Enhance Security
Researchers say they have developed the first-ever detailed worldwide map of the Internet.
From ACM TechNews
Scientists Develop a Novel Algorithm Inspired By Bee Colonies to Help Dismantling Criminal Social Networks
Researchers have developed an algorithm designed to counter both physical and virtual threats to social networks.