Communications of the ACM
An edited collection of advanced computing news from Communications of the ACM, ACM TechNews, other ACM resources, and news sites around the Web.
From ACM News
How to Learn Morse Code—semiconsciously
Learning Morse code, with its tappity-tap rhythms of dots and dashes, could take far less effort—and attention—than one might think.
From ACM News
New Rules For Avoiding Cyber Bugs in Medical Devices
The U.S. government on Tuesday issued rules for addressing cyber vulnerabilities in medical devices, providing manufacturers with guidelines for fixing security...
From ACM Opinion
Could Obama's Threat of Retaliation Against Russia Lead to Cyberwar?
Late last week Obama administration officials used NBC News to send Moscow a cryptic threat: The U.S. government is "contemplating an unprecedented cyber covert...
From ACM News
Human Brain Map Gets a Bold New Update
Most of us think little of hopping on Google Maps to look at everything from a bird's-eye view of an entire continent to an on-the-ground view of a specific street...
From ACM TechNews
Computers Can Sense Sarcasm? Yeah, Right
Researchers at the University of Turin and Yahoo! have developed software that can identify the expression of sarcasm on social media and the Web.
From ACM News
Mind Aglow: Scientists Watch Thoughts Form in the Brain
When a single neuron fires, it is an isolated chemical blip. When many fire together, they form a thought.
From ACM Opinion
Mind-Controlled Robo-Skeleton Enables Paraplegics to Regain Some Motion
Patients paralyzed by a spinal cord injury can face a grim and grueling recovery process—one in which regaining function is far from a sure thing. But a new study...
From ACM News
Hellish Venus Might Have Been Habitable For Billions of Years
Venus is—without a doubt—Earth's toxic sibling.
From ACM News
Could Trashing Junk Proteins Quash Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Als and Huntington's?
Although clutter can be a nuisance, it does not typically pose a health threat—unless you're an aging neuron.
From ACM Opinion
Americans Are Wary About Body-Enhancement Technologies
Emerging technologies that draw from biomedical technology, nanotechnology, information technology and other fields are developing at a rapid pace and may lead...
From ACM News
How Juno Will Peer Deep Below Jupiter's Roiling Clouds
When ground controllers begin powering up the Juno spacecraft's science instruments on July 6, one of their most important goals will be to get the microwave radiometer...
From ACM News
When Will Computers Have Common Sense? Ask Facebook
Facebook is well known for its early and increasing use of artificial intelligence.
From ACM News
Tech Turns to Biology as Data Storage Needs Explode
Researchers have decoded the genomes of mammoths and a 700,000-year-old horse using DNA fragments extracted from fossils in the past few years. DNA clearly persists...
From ACM News
How to Hack the Hackers: The Human Side of Cyber Crime
Say what you will about cybercriminals, says Angela Sasse, "their victims rave about the customer service".
From ACM News
How Nasa's Next Big Telescope Could Take Pictures of Another Earth
Can NASA's next big space telescope take a picture of an alien Earth-like planet orbiting another star?
From ACM Opinion
Scott Aaronson Answers Every Ridiculously Big Question I Throw at Him
Scott Aaronson has one of the highest intelligence/pretension ratios I’ve ever encountered.
From ACM News
Are We Living in a Computer Simulation?
If you, me and every person and thing in the cosmos were actually characters in some giant computer game, we would not necessarily know it.
From ACM News
Mysterious Gravitational Tug on Orbiter May Help Find Planet Nine
The hunt is on to find "Planet Nine"—a large undiscovered world, perhaps 10 times as massive as Earth and four times its size—that scientists think could be lurking...
From ACM News
Driverless Cars Must Have Steering Wheels, Brake Pedals, Feds Say
Driverless cars should have a fairly easy time getting the green light to operate on U.S. roadways, as long as they look and act like the vehicles people have been...
From ACM Careers