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An edited collection of advanced computing news from Communications of the ACM, ACM TechNews, other ACM resources, and news sites around the Web.


Scientists Create a Clock So Accurate It Won't Lose Time for 40 Million Years 
From ACM News

Scientists Create a Clock So Accurate It Won't Lose Time for 40 Million Years 

The Cryogenic Sapphire Oscillator is one of the most precise clocks ever invented—and it's not just keeping time, it's keeping Australia safe.

Welcome to the Airport of the Future, Where Your Face Is Your Passport
From ACM News

Welcome to the Airport of the Future, Where Your Face Is Your Passport

Australia is a bloody long way from the rest of the world.

Color X-Ray Scanner ­ses CERN Tech to See All Your Innards
From ACM News

Color X-Ray Scanner ­ses CERN Tech to See All Your Innards

The familiar black-and-white X-ray could soon be replaced with detailed 3D color scans that show everything from fat and bone to metal and soft tissue.

Inside Facebook, Twitter and Google's AI Battle Over Your Social Lives
From ACM News

Inside Facebook, Twitter and Google's AI Battle Over Your Social Lives

When you sign up for Facebook on your phone, the app isn't just giving you the latest updates and photos from your friends and family.

Celestial 'Snow' Flies in Wondrous Rosetta Comet GIF
From ACM News

Celestial 'Snow' Flies in Wondrous Rosetta Comet GIF

You'll never stand on the surface of a comet, but here's how it might look and feel.

AI Chips May Give You a Real Reason to Upgrade Your Smartphone
From ACM News

AI Chips May Give You a Real Reason to Upgrade Your Smartphone

You've likely seen artificial intelligence technology spread into apps, devices and services, doing things like recognizing your friends' faces in photos and endowing...

Weird Quantum Physics Is Key to Keeping Your Credit Card Safe
From ACM News

Weird Quantum Physics Is Key to Keeping Your Credit Card Safe

Using the bizarre rules of quantum physics, US government researchers have developed a new way to generate random numbers that play a key role in protecting sensitive...

Building Better Maps for the Disability Community
From ACM News

Building Better Maps for the Disability Community

Occupational therapist turned disability rights activist Alanna Raffel has spent her career thinking about accessibility. So for her 30th birthday last year, she...

Your Alexa and Fitbit Can Testify Against You in Court
From ACM News

Your Alexa and Fitbit Can Testify Against You in Court

Ross Compton had no idea his pacemaker would finger him for arson.

Enigma: Up Close with a Nazi Cipher Machine
From ACM News

Enigma: Up Close with a Nazi Cipher Machine

A black metal mechanical device resembling a typewriter sits in a wooden box.

Blockchain Explained: It Builds Trust When You Need It Most
From ACM Opinion

Blockchain Explained: It Builds Trust When You Need It Most

These days, we're having a harder and harder time trusting each other.

How Quantum Dots Supercharge Farming, Medicine and Solar, Too
From ACM News

How Quantum Dots Supercharge Farming, Medicine and Solar, Too

What if you could grow vegetables in half the time? What if a surgeon could see cancerous cells throughout an entire operation? What if solar panels could become...

How Pixar's Cartoon Cheese Led to a Smarter View of Science
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...

Tractor Beam Breakthrough Could Lead to Levitating Humans
From ACM News

Tractor Beam Breakthrough Could Lead to Levitating Humans

Tractor beams have made the jump from science fiction to reality in recent years, but only for levitating very small objects.

Slac Knows How the ­niverse Works. Now It's Targeting Your Needs
From ACM Careers

Slac Knows How the ­niverse Works. Now It's Targeting Your Needs

You could be forgiven for thinking the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory's glory days are long over.

How Russian Trolls Lie Their Way to the Top of Your News Feed
From ACM News

How Russian Trolls Lie Their Way to the Top of Your News Feed

Going viral used to be harmless.

Mapping the Great Barrier Reef with Cameras, Drones and Nasa Tech
From ACM News

Mapping the Great Barrier Reef with Cameras, Drones and Nasa Tech

Richard Vevers, a British underwater photographer, was horrified when he returned in 2015 to a colourful reef in American Samoa he had shot a year earlier. It had...

These Radio Telescopes See Almost to the Beginning of Time
From ACM News

These Radio Telescopes See Almost to the Beginning of Time

There are few places in the world that can accommodate a radio telescope.

Enigma: Why the Fight to Break Nazi Encryption Still Matters
From ACM News

Enigma: Why the Fight to Break Nazi Encryption Still Matters

It was night when three British sailors and a 16-year-old canteen assistant boarded a sinking U-boat off the coast of Egypt.

Apple vs. Fbi One Year Later: Still Stuck in Limbo
From ACM News

Apple vs. Fbi One Year Later: Still Stuck in Limbo

It's been a year since Apple fought the FBI over data privacy, and we've barely heard a peep from either side on the issue.
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