Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
December 2013
From ACM News
Faa Picks Six Projects to Tackle Drone Technology Development
The Federal Aviation Administration on Monday designated six projects across the U.S. for research into drones, the unmanned aircraft that have the potential to alter everything from package delivery to surveillance.
From ACM News
Dogecoins and Litecoins and Peercoins Oh My: What You Need to Know About Bitcoin Alternatives
By now, most people have heard of Bitcoin, the peer-to-peer currency whose value has soared over the past couple of years.
From ACM News
Reading Your Palm For Security's Sake
They aren't taking any chances at Barclays Bank in Britain.
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Simulate a Worm's Internal Muscle Sensations With Code
Researchers have reached a milestone in an effort to create a virtual nematode worm in a computer.
From ACM TechNews
Laser Demonstration Reveals Bright Future For Space Communication
The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration has completed its Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration mission.
From ACM TechNews
Motion-Captured Laughs Make Animations More Amusing
The European Commission's Ilhaire project aims to make chatbot avatars laugh more realistically.
From ACM TechNews
Smartphone as Mentor: How Tech Could Change Behavior
In a University of Michigan class called Imagine, Innovate, Act!, non-computing students design mobile apps to help users set and meet wellness milestones.
From ACM TechNews
Stanford and Google Team p to Simulate Key Drug Receptor
A first-of-its-kind atom-level simulation of a cell's G protein-coupled receptor could help improve drug design and lead to specialized scientific projects.
From ACM TechNews
A Breakthrough For Speeding Satellite Feeds
A new data-coding technology based on transmission control protocol could more than double bandwidth on satellite Internet connections.
From ACM News
Brainlike Computers, Learning From Experience
Computers have entered the age when they are able to learn from their own mistakes, a development that is about to turn the digital world on its head.
From ACM News
Nsa Phone Surveillance Legal, Federal Judge Rules
The debate over the National Security Agency's collection of millions of Americans' telephone records fell squarely into the courts when a federal judge in Manhattan upheld the legality of the program, citing its need in the…
From ACM Opinion
How Microsoft's 1 Percenters Balance Basic Research with Short-Term Success
When Microsoft launched its research labs in 1991, the personal computer was just beginning to blossom into a worldwide phenomenon, thanks in no small part to Windows.
From ACM Opinion
The Great Ideas Hiding nder the Invisibility Cloak
Physicist John Pendry talks about the profound physics obscured by his invisibility cloak and how metamaterials could help realise the perfect lens.
From ACM News
Nasa Lays Out Long-Term Vision For Astrophysics
A new year is a good time to make long-term plans, and NASA has jumped into the deep end of planning.
From ACM TechNews
New Approach to Vertex Connectivity Could Maximize Networks' Bandwidth
Researchers say they have developed a technique for addressing vertex-connectivity problems.
From ACM TechNews
Chrogps, a New Generation Visual Browser of the Epigenome
ChroGPS is a new software application that serves to facilitate the analysis and understanding of epigenetic data and to extract intelligible information.
From ACM TechNews
Federal Agencies to Hire More Cyber Defenders in 2014
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is seeking to significantly expand its cyber workforce.
From ACM TechNews
Canadian Girls Good at Math Half as Likely to Study STEM
Canadian high school girls who are good at math are half as likely as their male counterparts to pursue STEM and computer science in college.
From ACM TechNews
Messages Sent via Molecules Can Aid Communication nderground, nderwater, or Inside the Body
A new molecular communications system can send messages and data in environments where electromagnetic waves cannot be used.
From ACM News
The One Big Question About Rsa and Its Relationship With the Nsa
Last week, the Internet security world was jolted by a Reuters report detailing a secret $10 million payment to the security company RSA from the National Security Agency.
From ACM News
Google's Schaft Robot Wins DARPA Rescue Challenge
Team Schaft's machine carried out all eight rescue-themed tasks to outscore its rivals by a wide margin.
From ACM TechNews
Graphene Can Host Exotic New Quantum Electronic States at Its Edges
Researchers have uncovered unexpected features of graphene that appear under extreme conditions, which could allow the material to be used for exotic applications.
From ACM Opinion
Stanford Researchers: It Is Trivially Easy to Match Metadata to Real People
In defending the NSA's telephony metadata collection efforts, government officials have repeatedly resorted to one seemingly significant detail: This is just metadata—numbers dialed, lengths of calls.
From ACM TechNews
New Magnetic Behavior in Nanoparticles Discovered
Researchers say they have reproduced the antiferromagnetic coupling between layers in particles measuring 10 to 20 nanometers.
From ACM TechNews
Increase Cybersecurity Workforce, Government rged
The International Internet System Security Certification Consortium is suggesting ways to increase the number of candidates for open federal cybersecurity positions.
From ACM TechNews
Analytics: Where the Girls Are
Although women are generally underrepresented in many science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields, analytics offers a level playing field for women.
From ACM News
Alan Turing Gets Royal Pardon For 'gross Indecency' – 61 Years After He Poisoned Himself
Nearly 60 years after his suicide, Alan Turing has been officially pardoned by the Queen.
From ACM Opinion
The Predictive Power of Big Data
Right now, the average person's data footprint—the annual amount of data produced worldwide, per capita—is just a little short of one terabyte.
From ACM Opinion
Edward Snowden, After Months of Nsa Rvelations, Says His Mission's Accomplished
The familiar voice on the hotel room phone did not waste words.
From ACM News
Distant Planet Weighed sing Clues from Starlight
Researchers have weighed a planet orbiting a distant star by measuring the starlight passing through its atmosphere.