Communications of the ACM
Why the Simplex Method, at Age 75, is Still the Go-To Algorithm
Daniel A. Spielman and colleague Shang-hua Teng solved the mystery of the Simplex Method using a technique called smoothed analysis… From ACM NewsAn edited collection of advanced computing news from Communications of the ACM, ACM TechNews, other ACM resources, and news sites around the Web.
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Military Technology: Laser Weapons Get Real
Silently, the drone aircraft glides above the arid terrain of New Mexico—until it suddenly pivots out of control and plummets to the ground.
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'instinctive' Robot Recovers From Injury Fast
Computer scientists have endowed a six-legged robot with the ability to rapidly modify its motion to cope with damage, such as the loss of a foot.
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.s. Science Academies Take On Human-Genome Editing
The U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) will launch a major initiative to develop guidelines for editing human genomes...
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Five Factors That Will Decide If Philae Wakes
Ever since the European Space Agency's Philae lander ran out of batteries on 15 November, just three days after it bounced on to comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko...
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Pluto-Bound Craft Hunts For Hazardous Moons
On 11 May, a telescope aboard a NASA craft will turn and stare at Pluto—like a space-robot equivalent of a sailor watching for shoals that could take out his vessel...
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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.
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3D Simulations of Colliding Black Holes Hailed As Most Realistic Yet
When astronomers try to simulate colliding giant black holes, they usually rely on simplified approximations to model the swirling disks of matter that surround...
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Rule Rewrite Aims to Clean Up Scientific Software
The finding seemed counterintuitive: warming in North America was driving plant species to lower elevations—not towards higher, cooler climes, as ecologists had...
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The Printed Organs Coming to a Body Near You
The advent of three-dimensional (3D) printing has generated a swell of interest in artificial organs meant to replace, or even enhance, human machinery.
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Mystery of Ceres' Bright Spots Grows
Not all of the puzzling bright spots on the dwarf planet Ceres are alike.
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Mercury Seen As Never Before
NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft is set to plunge to its doom on 30 April, ending nearly four years of exploration of Mercury. Before it goes, the mission is sending...
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Complex Molecules Made to Order in Synthesis Machine
Synthesizing complex molecules is a notoriously fiendish art—and a daily toil for many chemists.
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Robo-Rescuers Battle It Out in Disaster Challenge
When the humanoid robot SAFFiR gets a shove, it reflexively moves to maintain its balance. SAFFiR can also walk over uneven terrain, turn its head to scan its surroundings...
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Game-Playing Software Holds Lessons For Neuroscience
DeepMind, the Google-owned artificial-intelligence company, has revealed how it created a single computer algorithm that can learn how to play 49 different arcade...
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Physics in Finance: Trading at the Speed of Light
Financial traders are in a race to make transactions ever faster.
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Jupiter Glimpsed As Aliens Would See It
Astronomers have observed Jupiter for centuries.
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European Languages Linked to Migration from the East
A mysterious group of humans from the east stormed western Europe 4,500 years ago—bringing with them technologies such as the wheel, as well as a language that...
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Autonomous Vehicles: No Drivers Required
This summer, people will cruise through the streets of Greenwich, U.K., in electric shuttles with no one's hands on the steering wheel—or any steering wheel at...
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Comet Scientists Abandon Philae Flyby
The European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft will not make a dedicated flyby to search for the lost comet lander Philae any time soon, according to a post on...
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