Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
April 2021
From ACM TechNews
Bitcoin Mining Emissions in China Will Hit 130 Million Tons by 2024
Researchers at China's Tsinghua University predicted Chinese bitcoin mining will emit roughly 130 million metric tons of carbon into the atmosphere by 2024.
From ACM TechNews
Computer Model Fosters Potential Improvements to 'Bionic Eye' Technology
Researchers are using an advanced computer model to mimic the human retina, in order to improve prosthetic eye technology.
From ACM News
How AI could Revolutionize Biology — and Vice Versa
Last month, researchers reported using a new technique to figure out how genes are expressed in individual cells and how those cells interact in people who had died with Alzheimer's disease.
From ACM News
A New Era of Innovation: Moore's Law is Not Dead and AI is Ready to Explode
Moore's Law is dead, right? Think again.
From ACM TechNews
As Locusts Swarmed East Africa, This Tech Helped Squash Them
A 2020 locust plague in East Africa was mitigated by technology-driven countermeasures.
From ACM TechNews
Monkey Equipped with Elon Musk's Neuralink Device Plays Pong with Its Brain
Elon Musk's Neuralink company released a blog post and video showing a monkey playing the game of Pong by thought, via the firm's sensor hardware and brain implant.
From ACM TechNews
Scientists Harness Chaos to Protect Devices From Hackers
A new version of physically unclonable functions could prevent even the most sophisticated hackers from accessing electronic devices.
From ACM TechNews
Swiss Robots Use UV Light to Zap Viruses Aboard Passenger Planes
A robot is using ultraviolet light to kill viruses aboard Swiss passenger planes, in a test being conducted with airport services company Dnata in the United Arab Emirates.
From ACM TechNews
Human Brain Organoids Grown in Cheap 3D-Printed Bioreactor
A human brain organoid was cultured in a week in a three-dimensionally-printed microfluidic bioreactor.
From ACM News
Tim Cook's 5-Word Response to Facebook Is Brutal and Brilliant at the Same Time
Apple's CEO is clear that he isn't making decisions based on what's best for Facebook, but for Apple and its customers.
From ACM TechNews
Supply Chain Strains Sharpen Focus on AI
Artificial intelligence increasingly is being used to forecast demand more accurately, in order to optimize supply chains.
From ACM TechNews
IBM's First Private Sector On-Premise Quantum Computer is Going to Research Lab
IBM has agreed to deploy a quantum computer at a new research center for researching viral pathogens, virus-induced diseases, genomics, immunology, and immunotherapies.
From ACM News
The State of Quantum Computing
Recent developments in the field may signal quantum technology will soon be ready for prime time.
From ACM News
How Can Government Attract the AI Talent It Needs?
Artificial intelligence can make the government more efficient and effective. But first, it has to hire the people who can make it all happen.
From ACM TechNews
China Creates Its Own Digital Currency
China's new digital yuan cryptocurrency is expected to give its government a vast economic and social monitoring tool, and strip users of their anonymity.
From ACM News
Surveillance Nation
Law enforcement agencies across the U.S. ran thousands of Clearview AI facial recognition searches, often without the knowledge of the public or their own departments.
From ACM News
Likely Legal, 'Vaccine Passports' Emerge as the Next Coronavirus Divide
Businesses and universities want easy ways to see if students and customers are vaccinated, but conservative politicians are turning "vaccine passports" into a cultural flash point.
From ACM News
Chip Industry Battle Royal: Arm Throws Down the Gauntlet at Intel’s Feet
Arm Ltd. has announced version 9 of its architecture. What does it mean for the semiconductor industry?
From ACM News
This Old Programming Language is Suddenly Getting More Popular Again
Apple's Objective-C finally exits the top 20 list of popular programming languages tracked by Tiobe, but a 'dinosaur' language has had an unexpected boost.
From ACM News
Google Wins Multibillion Dollar Copyright Fight With Oracle in Supreme Court
A lower court had ruled that Google's Android operating system infringed Java copyrights held by Oracle.
From ACM TechNews
New Hearing Aids, iPhone Apps, Tech Mean More Hearing-Loss Options--but Also New Struggles
The variety of low-cost products for people with mild-to-moderate hearing loss is expected to increase due to a new law.
From ACM TechNews
A Successful Phonon Calculation Within the Quantum Monte Carlo Framework
An international team of scientists has enhanced quantum Monte Carlo computation speeds based on error reduction.
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Found Way to Send Tiny Robots Into Mouse Brains
Researchers sent drug-impregnated microscopic robots into mouse brains to treat tumors, coating the machines in E. coli to let them pass through the blood-brain barrier.
From ACM News
Deep Learning Aces Protein Folding
In a long-running prediction challenge, DeepMind's algorithms change the game.
From ACM News
Why Computers Won't Make Themselves Smarter
We fear and yearn for "the singularity." But it will probably never come.
From ACM TechNews
Technology Keeps Senior Center Residents Connected During Pandemic
Senior living facilities are looking to balance the benefits of technology by promoting social interactions as the pace of coronavirus vaccinations increases.
From ACM TechNews
Robot Senses Hidden Objects
A new robot can locate and grasp hidden objects using radio waves in combination with traditional computer vision.
From ACM TechNews
How Fortnite, Zelda Can Up Your Surgical Game (No Joke!)
Researchers suggest video games could be a beneficial tool for training surgeons.
From ACM TechNews
Japan to Join EU, China in Issuing Digital Vaccine Passport
Japan plans to issue digital vaccine passports to citizens who have been immunized against the coronavirus, in order to facilitate international travel.
From ACM TechNews
Robots Could Replace Hundreds of Thousands of Oil, Gas Jobs by 2030
A Norwegian energy research firm predicted robotics and automation could replace hundreds of thousands of oil and gas workers worldwide by 2030.