Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
May 2015
From ACM News
Oculus Rift Hack Transfers Your Facial Expressions Onto Your Virtual Avatar
When Facebook bought Oculus VR back in March of 2014, many wondered exactly what the social network was going to do with it; let's face it, many of us are still wondering.
From ACM News
Quantum Physics: What Is Really Real?
Owen Maroney worries that physicists have spent the better part of a century engaging in fraud.
From ACM News
Nasa Soil Moisture Mission Begins Science Operations
NASA's new Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission to map global soil moisture and detect whether soils are frozen or thawed has begun science operations.
From ACM TechNews
New Computer Bug Exposes Broad Security Flaws
An international team has discovered an Internet bug that enables an attacker to trick a Web browser into believing it is using a regular key rather than the export version.
From ACM TechNews
To Handle Big Data, Shrink It
A new algorithm finds the smallest possible approximation of a matrix that guarantees reliable computations.
From ACM TechNews
New Chip Architecture May Provide Foundation for Quantum Computer
A new device that enables more electrodes to be placed on a chip could bring the field one step closer to a quantum computer that can perform complex algorithms.
From ACM TechNews
A Nano-Transistor Assesses Your Health Via Sweat
A new ultra-low-power sensor enables real-time scanning of the contents of liquids such as perspiration.
From ACM TechNews
The Machine Vision Algorithm Beating Art Historians at Their Own Game
Recent advances in machine learning such as deep convolutional neural networks are enabling the development of machines that perform pattern-recognition tasks.
From ACM Opinion
Hacking the Brain
The perfectibility of the human mind is a theme that has captured our imagination for centuries—the notion that, with the right tools, the right approach, the right attitude, we might become better, smarter versions of ourselves…
From ACM News
.s. Science Academies Take On Human-Genome Editing
The U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) will launch a major initiative to develop guidelines for editing human genomes, they said on 18 May.
From ACM TechNews
Computing at the Speed of Light
A new ultracompact beamsplitter for dividing light waves into separate channels could lead to computers that work millions of times faster than conventional machines.
From ACM News
Predictive Analytics Provides Powerful Benefits to Healthcare
Medical treatment is on the verge of a "radical transformation" thanks to statistical data analysis techniques that predict future outcomes.
From ACM News
Technology Doesn't Explain the Philly Train Crash
Cars can now drive by themselves. Automatic pilot systems can fly a jet airliner much of the time. Why is it so hard to make trains that can stop on their own?
From ACM News
Can We Identify Every Kind of Cell in the Body?
How many types of cells are there in the human body? Textbooks say a couple of hundred. But the true number is undoubtedly far larger.
From ACM TechNews
Wearables May Get Boost From Boron-Infused Graphene
Rice University researchers have upgraded a microsupercapacitor they say could eventually be incorporated into personal and wearable electronics.
From ACM TechNews
Computers Harness Language Translation
Statistical machine-translation technologies developed at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory have helped the Army become less reliant on human translators.
From ACM TechNews
New Options For Spintronic Devices: Switching Between 1 and 0 With Low Voltage
Researchers have demonstrated switching ferromagnetic domains on and off with low voltage at near-room temperature in a structure made of ferroic materials.
From ACM News
Tech Giants Don’t Want Obama to Give Police Access to Encrypted Phone Data
Technology companies, trade associations, and security and policy experts are urging President Obama to reject proposals to weaken security of communication devices.
From ACM Opinion
Attention White-Collar Workers: The Robots Are Coming For Your Jobs
From the self-checkout aisle of the grocery store to the sports section of the newspaper, robots and computer software are increasingly taking the place of humans in the workforce.
From ACM News
Astronomers Take a New Kind of Pulse From the Sky
Every night, our sky beats with the pulses of radio light waves, most of which go unseen.
From ACM Careers
How Maker Faires Are Inspiring Young 'makers' All Over the World
One of the truly bright lights in tech education is the Maker Faire.
From ACM News
Blueprint For a Better Human Body
When Elizabeth Wright smacks her right leg on a table, she says "ow."
From ACM News
Feds Say That Banned Researcher Commandeered a Plane
A security researcher kicked off a United Airlines flight last month after tweeting about security vulnerabilities in its system had previously taken control of an airplane and caused it to briefly fly sideways, according to…
From ACM TechNews
A Secure, Anonymous, Easy Way to Pay for Online Content
Researchers at the University of Luxembourg have developed a new way for readers, viewers, and gamers to pay for online content without making cash payments.
From ACM TechNews
Say Hello to Machines That Read Your Emotions to Make You Happy
EmoSPARK is an artificial intelligence-based device that can gauge a person's mood based on what they say and how they say it.
From ACM TechNews
Artbot Engineers the Discovery of Art
Artbot is a new mobile website app that mines both user preferences and event tags to provide users with connections to the local art scene.
From ACM TechNews
Google, Nasa Work Together on Disney Show to Inspire Girls Into Sciences
Disney Junior wants a new show it is developing to help bury media stereotypes about science and programmers.
From ACM TechNews
Autonomous Car Prototype Folds, Shrinks, Drives Sideways
A group of engineers, software developers, and designers in Germany have developed a design for a electric micro car capable of driving sideways.
From ACM News
Liberty Science Center Bestows Genius Awards on Cerf, Bezos, Tartar
Liberty Science Center recently bestowed Genius Awards on Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Google Chief Internet Evangelist Vint Cerf, and SETI astronomer Jill Tarter.
From ACM TechNews
Code.org Targets High School Computer Science
Code.org is collaborating with College Board to work to increase the number of female and minority students taking computer science courses.