Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
April 2016
From ACM News
Software Error Doomed Japanese Hitomi Spacecraft
Japan's flagship astronomical satellite Hitomi, which launched successfully on 17 February but tumbled out of control five weeks later, may have been doomed by a basic engineering error.
From ACM News
As S Drops 'cyber Bombs,' Isis Retools Its Own Cyber Army
The Islamic State has been deft in its use of the Internet as a communications tool.
From ACM TechNews
Nist Kicks Off Effort to Defend Encrypted Data From Quantum Computer Threat
A new report from the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology focuses on how to protect encrypted data from quantum decryption via a long-term plan.
From ACM TechNews
Aerial 'fire Drone' Passes Homestead Test
University of Nebraska-Lincoln researchers have designed an aerial drone to ignite prescribed fires in grasslands and forests.
From ACM TechNews
Security Breach in Israeli-Made Waze Lets Hackers Stalk sers
University of California, Santa Barbara professor Ben Zhao and colleagues have demonstrated a way to breach the popular Waze road navigation application.
From ACM TechNews
Bu Researchers Investigate World's Oldest Human Footprints With Software Designed to Decode Crime Scenes
Bournemouth University researchers have developed a software technique to uncover "lost" tracks at the world's oldest human footprint site in Laetoli, Tanzania.
From ACM TechNews
Digital Genies
University of California, Berkeley professor Stuart Russell emphasizes the need to ensure artificial intelligence understands fundamental human values.
From ACM Opinion
This Top Scientist Offers a Solution For the Havoc Driverless Cars May Wreck on Workers
Proponents of autonomous vehicles are in a sticky situation.
From ACM News
The Critical Hole at the Heart of Our Cell Phone Networks
In February 2014, the US ambassador to Ukraine suffered an embarrassing leak.
From ACM News
How a Woman Trapped in Her Body 'spoke' Once Again
Around six years have now passed since Waltraut Faehnrich last opened and closed her eyes without assistance.
From ACM News
Cassini Explores a Methane Sea on Titan
Of the hundreds of moons in our solar system, Titan is the only one with a dense atmosphere and large liquid reservoirs on its surface, making it in some ways more like a terrestrial planet.
From ACM TechNews
Boosting Software Security For a Connected World
European researchers working on the DIAMONDS project have developed a software security testing paradigm.
From ACM TechNews
Does Learning Improve When Every Student Gets a Laptop?
Researchers have found "one-to-one" laptop programs that take a comprehensive approach were linked to higher test scores in English, math, science, and writing.
From ACM News
The Average Webpage Is Now the Size of the Original Doom
The web is Doomed.
From ACM TechNews
Software Helps Decrypt Embryonic Development
Researchers have devised mathematical strategies and software for the systematic analysis of realistic pattern-forming networks involving more than two molecules.
From ACM TechNews
#areyouhappy?
Researchers from the University of Iowa have turned to social media to measure happiness.
From ACM News
The Road to Regulating Self-Driving Cars Is Long, Winding
Real-world use of autonomous vehicles will depend on how they are evaluated, and whether federal regulators have the expertise to lead evaluation efforts.
From ACM Careers
AI Talent Grab Sparks Excitement and Concern
When Andrew Ng joined Google from Stanford University in 2011, he was among a trickle of artificial-intelligence (AI) experts in academia taking up roles in industry.
From ACM News
This May Be the Best Way to Measure Gun Violence in America
In Canton, Ohio, one of the most common complaints that police chief Bruce Lawver hears is about gunfire. Shots fired. That unnerving pop of a firearm being discharged.
From ACM News
Light Echoes Give Clues to Protoplanetary Disk
Imagine you want to measure the size of a room, but it's completely dark. If you shout, you can tell if the space you're in is relatively big or small, depending on how long it takes to hear the echo after it bounces off the…
From ACM TechNews
Vint Cerf: We Need to Make Room on the Net For All the Machines
Google chief Internet evangelist Vint Cerf said Internet Protocol's current support for about 4.3 billion distinct addresses at a time for online devices is insufficient.
From ACM TechNews
Meet the Incredible Woman Who Massively Improved the Internet
Princeton University professor Jennifer Rexford recently was awarded the Athena Lecturer award by ACM's Council on Women in Computing.
From ACM TechNews
DARPA Is Looking For the Perfect Encryption App, and It's Willing to Pay
The Pentagon's blue-sky research program is looking for someone to create the ultimate hacker-proof messaging app.
From ACM TechNews
Can Technology Help Teach Literacy in Poor Communities?
Three studies have found tablet use effective in improving performance on standardized tests of reading preparedness by children in economically disadvantaged countries.
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Explain How Stereotypes Keep Girls Out of Computer Science Classes
Educators need to start earlier and set a strong foundation to resolve the gender gap in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields.
From ACM News
Brain Cartography: Modern-Day Explorers Are Mapping the Wiring of the Human Mind
The brain can be both best friend and worst enemy.
From ACM News
Will Artificial Intelligence Win the Caption Contest?
When social-media users upload photographs and caption them, they don't just label their contents. They tell a story, which gives the photos context and additional emotional meaning.
From ACM News
Two Tips to Keep Your Phone's Encrypted Messages Encrypted
End-to-end encryption by default is quickly becoming the new standard for any communications app that claims to care about the privacy of those who use it.
From ACM News
Can Chatbots Think Before They Talk?
ELIZA-like programs balance modern AI with decades-old database techniques.
From ACM News
Human History Traced Via the Y Chromosome
The history of humanity, as we've read it through DNA, has been written largely by females.