Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
January 2018
From ACM News
Data Visualization Tools Drive Interactivity and Reproducibility in Online Publishing
As Benjamin Delory started his paper documenting a new way to quantify plant morphology, he realized that one of the figures could pose a problem.
From ACM News
Vista From Mars Rover Looks Back Over Journey So Far
A panoramic image that NASA's Curiosity Mars rover took from a mountainside ridge provides a sweeping vista of key sites visited since the rover's 2012 landing, and the towering surroundings.
From ACM TechNews
How Programmers Learn to Code
Most coders' programming skills are self-taught, and more than a quarter of surveyed developers wrote their first piece of code before they were 16 years old.
From ACM TechNews
The Next Big Breakthrough in Robotics
Northeastern University professor Robert Platt says advances in machine learning, big data, and robot perception have put the robotics field on the brink of a major breakthrough.
From ACM TechNews
Study Produces 3D Images That Float in 'thin Air'
Researchers say they have developed a way to create a three-dimensional volumetric projection hat a viewer can walk around and see from every angle.
From ACM TechNews
Researchers at Cornell Release Paper on Cryptocurrencies
A new report challenges the idea that the world's two most popular cryptocurrencies provide decentralized financial systems.
From ACM TechNews
App to Increase Public Involvement in Protecting Rivers
Researchers are developing a mobile application that will monitor developments around rivers in order to maximize public participation in revivification.
From ACM TechNews
.s. Leads but China Gains in Nsf 2018 S&e Indicators Report
The U.S. National Science Foundation's Science and Engineering Indicators 2018 report found the U.S. still leads in science and engineering worldwide, although China is advancing.
From ACM Careers
Every Study We Could Find on What Automation Will Do to Jobs, in One Chart
You've seen the headlines: "Robots Will Destroy Our Jobs—and We're Not Ready for It." "You Will Lose Your Job to a Robot—and Sooner Than You Think." "Robots May Steal as Many as 800 Million Jobs in the Next 13 Years."
From ACM News
A New Recipe For Hunting Alien Life
Imagine stepping into a time machine, one that could traverse not only billions of years but also countless light years of space, all in search of life in the universe.
From ACM News
Blockchain Is This Year's Buzzword, But Can It Outlive the Hype?
The speculation around cryptocurrencies has obscured the fact that blockchain, the decentralised, open-source ledger that drives bitcoin, could radically change how ownership is verified.
From ACM TechNews
Engineering School Attempts to Overcome 'memory Wall'
The University of Virginia's School of Engineering and Applied Science has received $27.5 million to launch the Center for Research in Intelligent Storage and Processing in Memory.
From ACM TechNews
Computer Science Professor Leads Multi-Disciplined Approach to Collaboration
Researchers have developed a model for experiential and community-engaged learning that they have used to immerse their students in computational thinking.
From ACM TechNews
Researchers se Sound Waves to Advance Optical Communication
Researchers at the University of Illinois have demonstrated that sound waves can produce ultraminiature optical diodes small enough to fit onto a computer chip.
From ACM News
The Quantum Computer Era Arrives
The drive to develop and commercialize the first quantum computer has been characterized as the new arms race.
From ACM News
Artificial Neurons Compute Faster Than the Human Brain
Superconducting computing chips modelled after neurons can process information faster and more efficiently than the human brain.
From ACM Careers
How Pixar's Cartoon Cheese Led to a Smarter View of Science
Ten years ago, a chunk of animated cheese in Pixar's "Ratatouille" captured the imagination of cell biologist Janet Iwasa. So much so that it changed the way she teaches how deadly viruses work.
From ACM News
Strava Suggests Military sers 'opt Out' of Heatmap as Row Deepens
Fitness-tracking company Strava has defended its publication of heatmaps that accidentally reveal sensitive military positions, arguing that the information was already made public by the users who uploaded it.
From ACM TechNews
Russian Experts Submit 'impenetrable' Smartphone Protection System
Researchers at the National Research Nuclear University in Russia have developed a system of continuous authentication of mobile device users based on behavioral biometrics.
From ACM TechNews
Deep Learning Pioneered For Real-Time Gravitational Wave Discovery
Researchers have developed a method for using graphics processing unit-accelerated deep learning for detecting and characterizing gravitational waves.
From ACM TechNews
Technique Triggers Electronic Circuits to Self-Destruct
Researchers say they have invented a method for triggering the discreet self-destruction of electronic circuits.
From ACM TechNews
Eight Governors Join Coalition to Expand Computer Science Education
The Governors' Partnership for K-12 Computer Science has added eight new members, bringing the total number of participants to 16 U.S. governors.
From ACM TechNews
Scientists Work to Automate Quick Translation of Obscure Languages
Researchers have received a U.S. Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity grant to develop an automated tool for translating obscure languages.
From ACM TechNews
Feedback Enhances Brainwave Control of a Novel Hand-Exoskeleton
Researchers are developing a portable hand exoskeleton controlled by brainwaves.
From ACM News
Tech Giants Brace For Europe's New Data Privacy Rule
Over the past two months, Google has started letting people around the world choose what data they want to share with its various products, including Gmail and Google Docs.
From ACM News
Your Sloppy Bitcoin Drug Deals Will Haunt You For Years
Perhaps you bought some illegal narcotics on the Silk Road half a decade ago, back when that digital black market for every contraband imaginable was still online and bustling.
From ACM News
Vulnerable Industrial Controls Directly Connected to Internet? Why Not?
Siemens issued an update to a year-old product vulnerability warning for its SIMATIC S7-300 and S7-400 families of programmable logic controllers (PLCs)—industrial control systems used to remotely monitor and operate manufacturing…
From ACM News
Top Technews Stories of 2017
ACM delivers the TechNews computer science and technology newsletter to more than 110,000 ACM members three times each week.
From ACM TechNews
Bitcoin Wallets Vulnerable to Security Hacks
Researchers say they have identified some security flaws in communications systems used in popular models of bitcoin wallet.
From ACM TechNews
Smartphones Come in Handy For Rare Cosmic Particles Search
Researchers say they have improved a method for analyzing ultra-high-energy cosmic rays with mobile phones.