Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
April 2015
From ACM News
Nasa's New Horizons Detects Surface Features, Possible Polar Cap on Pluto
For the first time, images from NASA's New Horizons spacecraft are revealing bright and dark regions on the surface of faraway Pluto—the primary target of the New Horizons close flyby in mid-July.
From ACM News
Holograms Could Bring Videogame-Like Navigation to Your Car
There are plenty of ways to get directions in the car, but most have one big shortcoming.
From ACM Careers
Nih Reiterates Ban on Editing Human Embryo Dna
The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) has reaffirmed its ban on research that involves gene editing of human embryos. In a statement released on 29 April, NIH director Francis Collins spelled out the agency's long-standing…
From ACM TechNews
Olga Troyanskaya Brings Order to Big Data of Human Biology
Researchers at the Simons Center for Data Analysis have established how genes work together within 144 different human tissues and cell types.
From ACM TechNews
Lawmakers Want a Few Good Hackers to Help Bring Congress Into the 21st Century
The Hack4Congress D.C. brought together technology enthusiasts and non-technology hobbyists to work on projects intended to make the U.S. Congress more efficient.
From ACM TechNews
Resilience, Not Abstinence, May Help Teens Battle Online Risk
Researchers found keeping teens safe on the Internet can be achieved by boosting their ability to cope with online risks, rather than trying to stop them from going online.
From ACM TechNews
c Berkeley Team Builds 'smart' Grocery Cart With Recycled Smartphones
A smart grocery cart was the winning product concept in the inaugural Smartphone Encore Challenge.
From ACM News
Nasa Bids Farewell to Messenger, Its Mercury Orbiter
A bit over 3,900 days ago, NASA sent a probe on a meandering course through the inner Solar System.
From ACM News
Microsoft Shows Hololens' Augmented Reality Is No Gimmick
Microsoft demonstrated how far its augmented-reality HoloLens wonderland project has come.
From ACM News
IBM Brings Quantum Computing a Step Closer
Researchers at IBM have stitched together a prototype circuit that could become the basis of quantum computers a decade hence.
From ACM TechNews
One Way to Reduce Email Stress: Re-Invent the Mailing List
Researchers at MIT CSAIL have developed a prototype system called Murmur that they hope will improve the experience of using email mailing lists by incorporating popular social media features such as upvoting, following, and…
From ACM News
Is the niverse a Hologram?
At first glance, there is not the slightest doubt: to us, the universe looks three dimensional. But one of the most fruitful theories of theoretical physics in the last two decades is challenging this assumption.
From ACM TechNews
Online Fact-Checking Tool Gets a Big Test With Nepal Earthquake
A group of volunteer "digital humanitarians" is using an experimental Web platform to crowdsource rumor verification following the 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Nepal.
From ACM TechNews
Why Coding Is Your Child's Key to nlocking the Future
An increasing number of educators and activists are pushing to make programming a part of all children's basic education.
From ACM TechNews
Zero Downtime For Gnss Applications
The CALIBRA project team has developed new solutions for ionospheric disturbance, which can affect the positioning of global navigation satellite systems (GNSS).
From ACM TechNews
sing Smartphones to Avoid Spatial Disorientation of Elderly
Researchers have turned to network operating technologies to locate and send alerts to elderly people with mild cognitive impairment during episodes of disorientation.
From ACM TechNews
Team Develops Faster, Higher Quality 3D Camera
Researchers have developed a three-dimensional capture camera they say is inexpensive, produces high-quality images, and works in all environments.
From ACM TechNews
.s. Is Faulted For Risking Edge in R&d
A new report from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is faulting the U.S. government for failing to maintain its investments in basic scientific research.
From ACM Opinion
You Can't Backdoor a Platform
According to law enforcement and intelligence agencies, encryption should come with a backdoor.
From ACM News
Smartphone Secrets May Be Better Than a Password
Before you read this story, try to answer the following question: Who was the first person to text you today?
From ACM Opinion
Mercury Mission Set to End with Dramatic Crash
On 30 April, after more than four years in orbit around Mercury, NASA's MESSENGER probe will plunge to its doom.
From ACM News
Researchers Plan to Demonstrate a Wireless Car Hack This Summer
A note of caution to anyone who works on the security team of a major automobile manufacturer: Don't plan your summer vacation just yet.
From ACM TechNews
Security Experts Hack Teleoperated Surgical Robot
University of Washington in Seattle researchers are studying the issues associated with the communications technology involved in telesurgery.
From ACM TechNews
Soggy Computing: Liquid Devices Might Match the Brain's Efficiency
Researchers are studying a class of materials capable of switching from an insulating state to a conductive, metallic one.
From ACM TechNews
Iowa State Researchers Test Brain Activity to Identify Cybersecurity Threats
Iowa State University researchers are working to better understand internal cybersecurity threats by measuring brain activity.
From ACM News
Rosetta Captures Stunning New Images of Comet's Surface and Activity
What happens when you make a low-level flyby of a cometary nucleus?
From ACM News
Prosthetics That Can Feel, Thanks to the Science of Touch
In 2012, Pennsylvania native Jan Scheuermann ate the most satisfying bite of chocolate of her life.
From ACM News
Project Elysium Wants to se Vr to Revive Deceased Loved Ones
How far is too far when it comes to pushing the boundaries of virtual reality?
From ACM News
nforgettable Hubble Space Telescope Photos
"This is a really new birthplace of stars," Jennifer Wiseman, senior project scientist for the Hubble Space Telescope, said of the new image, which shows a cluster of 3,000 stars known as Westerlund 2 in the constellation Carina…
From ACM TechNews
Australian Researchers Reveal Graphene 3D Display Tech
Graphene is at the center of a new technique for creating three-dimensional (3D) holographic displays featured in films such as "Star Wars" and "Avatar."