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Communications of the ACM

News Archive


Archives

The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.

June 2018


From ACM TechNews

The Importance of Teaching Robots to Hug

The Importance of Teaching Robots to Hug

A study by researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Germany detailed researchers' exploration of robots capable of hugging humans for emotional support.


From ACM TechNews

Wireless System Can Power Devices Inside the Body

Wireless System Can Power Devices Inside the Body

Researchers have developed a wireless method for powering and communicating with devices implanted within the human body.


From ACM TechNews

AI Beats Doctors at Cancer Diagnoses

AI Beats Doctors at Cancer Diagnoses

Researchers have demonstrated that a deep learning convolutional neural network can outperform experienced dermatologists at detecting skin cancer.


From ACM News

NASA Finds Ancient Organic Material, Mysterious Methane on Mars

NASA Finds Ancient Organic Material, Mysterious Methane on Mars

NASA's Curiosity rover has found new evidence preserved in rocks on Mars that suggests the planet could have supported ancient life, as well as new evidence in the Martian atmosphere that relates to the search for current life…


From ACM News

The 2017 Top Programming Languages

The 2017 Top Programming Languages

It's summertime here at IEEE Spectrum, and that means it's time for our fourth interactive ranking of the top programming languages.


From ACM News

New Horizons Is Awake Again to Fly by Distant Object

New Horizons Is Awake Again to Fly by Distant Object

A nice nap always makes a long journey more bearable—and that's even more true when the journey covers billions of miles.


From ACM TechNews

Eye-Tracking Software Makes Insurance Policies Easier to ­nderstand

Eye-Tracking Software Makes Insurance Policies Easier to ­nderstand

New research has determined eye-tracking software can help insurers draft more understandable, easier to read policies.


From ACM TechNews

Cell-Like Nanorobots Clear Bacteria, Toxins From Blood

Cell-Like Nanorobots Clear Bacteria, Toxins From Blood

Proof-of-concept ultrasound-powered nanorobots reportedly can swim through blood, removing harmful bacteria and related toxins.


From ACM TechNews

How Do Autonomous Vehicles Learn to Drive? Download This Self-Driving Dataset and See for Yourself

How Do Autonomous Vehicles Learn to Drive? Download This Self-Driving Dataset and See for Yourself

The University of California, Berkeley has made available a massive dataset used by engineers in the development of driverless auto technologies.


From ACM News

Thanks For The Memories

Thanks For The Memories

Researchers identify a way to digitally code—and boost—brain memory.


From ACM News

Gravitational Waves Reveal the Hearts of Neutron Stars

Gravitational Waves Reveal the Hearts of Neutron Stars

Inside a neutron star—the city-size, hyperdense cinder left after a supernova—modern physics plunges off the edge of the map.


From ACM Careers

Ted Dabney, a Founder of Atari and a Creator of Pong, Dies at 81

Ted Dabney, a Founder of Atari and a Creator of Pong, Dies at 81

Samuel F. Dabney, an electrical engineer who laid the groundwork for the modern video game industry as a co-founder of Atari and helped create the hit console game Pong, died on May 26 at his home in Clearlake, Calif. He was …


From ACM TechNews

World's Largest Computing Association Appoints First Woman CEO

World's Largest Computing Association Appoints First Woman CEO

ACM President Vicki L. Hanson has been named executive director and CEO effective July 1.


From ACM TechNews

Future Robots Need No Motors

Future Robots Need No Motors

A team of researchers has created the first nickel-hydroxide actuating material capable of being powered by visible light, electricity, or other stimuli.


From ACM TechNews

Self-Learning Assistance System for Efficient Processes

Self-Learning Assistance System for Efficient Processes

Researchers in Germany are developing a self-learning assistance system to help machine operators correct errors while accruing experience and process knowledge.


From ACM TechNews

Quantum Is Key to Securing Blockchain, Say Russian Researchers

Quantum Is Key to Securing Blockchain, Say Russian Researchers

Russian researchers have used quantum key distribution to address the issue of quantum blockchain security.


From ACM TechNews

Your Reaction to Pics of Leonardo DiCaprio, Animals Could ­nlock Your Next Smartphone

Your Reaction to Pics of Leonardo DiCaprio, Animals Could ­nlock Your Next Smartphone

A new type of password under development "measures your brainwaves" in response to a series of pictures.


From ACM TechNews

Aerial Robot Can Morph in Flight

Aerial Robot Can Morph in Flight

Researchers have designed an aerial robot that can change its profile during flight.


From ACM News

Are You Scared Yet? Meet Norman, the Psychopathic AI

Are You Scared Yet? Meet Norman, the Psychopathic AI

Norman is an algorithm trained to understand pictures but, like its namesake Hitchcock's Norman Bates, it does not have an optimistic view of the world.


From ACM News

Tiny, Far-Flung Worlds Could Explain Outer Solar System's Strange Geometry

Tiny, Far-Flung Worlds Could Explain Outer Solar System's Strange Geometry

Hundreds of Moon-sized worlds may orbit the Sun far beyond Neptune, sculpting the geometry of the outer Solar System.


From ACM Careers

Asia Pacific's Most Innovative ­niversities – 2018

Asia Pacific's Most Innovative ­niversities – 2018

Every scientist hopes for a "Eureka" moment—the jolt of sudden insight when a discovery becomes clear. But great advances always follow regular progress, and while individual researchers might strive for disruption, institutions…


From ACM TechNews

Scientists ­se a Photonic Quantum Simulator to Make Virtual Movies of Molecules Vibrating

Scientists ­se a Photonic Quantum Simulator to Make Virtual Movies of Molecules Vibrating

Researchers from five institutions have demonstrated how an optical chip can simulate the motion of atoms within molecules at the quantum level.


From ACM TechNews

Applying Machine Learning Tools to Earthquake Data Offers New Insights

Applying Machine Learning Tools to Earthquake Data Offers New Insights

Machine learning algorithms identified three different types of earthquakes from seismic recordings.


From ACM TechNews

Combining Experts and Automation in 3D Printing

Combining Experts and Automation in 3D Printing

Researchers have developed an approach to the three-dimensional printing of soft material that merges expert judgment with an optimization algorithm.


From ACM News

The Fake News Wars Have Only Begun

 The Fake News Wars Have Only Begun

 The next generation of false news will feature realistic-looking videos and a battle of algorithms.


From ACM Opinion

Apple CEO Tim Cook on Screen Time Controls, Working with China

Apple CEO Tim Cook on Screen Time Controls, Working with China

Tim Cook, who has led Apple since 2011, spoke with NPR's Steve Inskeep in a wide-ranging interview on Monday as the company kicked off its annual Worldwide Developers Conference.


From ACM News

Evidence Found for a New Fundamental Particle

Evidence Found for a New Fundamental Particle

Physicists are both thrilled and baffled by a new report from a neutrino experiment at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory near Chicago.


From ACM News

Mars Curiosity's Labs Are Back in Action

Mars Curiosity's Labs Are Back in Action

NASA's Curiosity rover is analyzing drilled samples on Mars in one of its onboard labs for the first time in more than a year.


From ACM TechNews

Physicists Invent Flux Capacitor to Break Time-Reversal Symmetry

Physicists Invent Flux Capacitor to Break Time-Reversal Symmetry

Researchers in Australia and Switzerland have proposed a device that can break time-reversal symmetry by exploiting the quantum tunneling of magnetic flux around a capacitor.


From ACM TechNews

IBM Leads 'Call for Code' to ­se Cloud, AI for Natural Disaster Relief

IBM Leads 'Call for Code' to ­se Cloud, AI for Natural Disaster Relief

The new Call for Code Global Initiative is aimed at helping the IT world respond more efficiently to natural disasters using a variety of computer-based technologies.