Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
May 2017
From ACM TechNews
This Spy App Can See If You've Visited Whistleblowing Sites on the Dark Web
New spyware can determine whether online users have visited whistleblowing sites on the Dark Web.
From ACM TechNews
Imec Demonstrates Self-Learning Neuromorphic Chip That Composes Music
Researchers say they have created the world's first self-learning neuromorphic chip, based on OxRAM technology, that demonstrates the ability to compose music.
From ACM TechNews
Microrobots Inspired By Nature
Researchers have developed microrobots that mimic the rowing action of the cilia present in the single-celled paramecium.
From ACM News
What This Apple-Picking Robot Means For the Future of Farm Workers
Robots are replacing human workers at a faster pace than any other point in history. Most of these robots are in factories, but a new kind of mechanized worker has hit apple orchards.
From ACM News
A Chinese Genome Giant Sets Its Sights on the itimate Sequencer
The world's largest genetics research center isn't at Harvard or Stanford or even the NIH. It's a 20-mile drive from Hong Kong International Airport, in the bustling Chinese city of Shenzhen.
From ACM News
Vint Cerf on His 'love Affair' with Tech and What’s Coming Next
The father of the Internet looks back at the last 50 years, and ahead to what faces IT.
From ACM News
Patching the Electric Grid
Electric grids worldwide are increasingly vulnerable to attack as new technologies like smart meters and analytical software are added to them, with mature systems like North America's at particular risk, according to the World…
From ACM News
Bigger Is Better: Quantum Volume Expresses Computer's Limit
The race to build the first useful quantum computer continues apace. And, like all races, there are decisions to be made, including the technology each competitor must choose.
From ACM TechNews
Advancing Cancer Immunotherapy With Computer Simulations and Data Analysis
Researchers have developed a unique mathematical model to probe interactions between prostate tumors and common cancer immunotherapies.
From ACM TechNews
Google's AI Invents Sounds Humans Have Never Heard Before
Google researchers have found a way to use artificial intelligence to produce entirely new sounds.
From ACM TechNews
Disney Research Transforms Movie-Quality Animations For Interactive Viewing
Disney researchers say they have developed a process that transforms high-resolution animated content into a novel video format to enable immersive viewing.
From ACM TechNews
Sdsc's Comet Helps Replicate Brain Circuitry to Direct a Realistic Prosthetic Arm
Researchers used the San Diego Supercomputer Center's Comet system in applying a novel algorithm to replicate neural pathways for controlling limb movement.
From ACM News
Your Face Can Get You More Than Just Toilet Paper in China
Now a number of female students at one of the country's top universities can use their face to open doors, according to news reports.
From ACM News
Solid-State Batteries to Support the Growth of Iot
Compared to lithium-ion batteries, solid-state batteries don't have the potential to burn or explode, and they can recharge via energy harvesting.
From ACM News
Nasa Asks Scientific Community to Think on Possible Europa Lander Instruments
NASA is asking scientists to consider what would be the best instruments to include on a mission to land on Jupiter's icy moon, Europa.
From ACM News
Should the Government Keep Stockpiling Software Bugs?
As the dust settles from the global ransomware attack that has crippled systems in more than 150 countries since Friday, the U.S. government's shadowy process for collecting and disclosing software vulnerabilities is again under…
From ACM TechNews
How to Make Fully Homomorphic Encryption 'practical and sable'
The U.S. Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity has awarded Galois $1 million to make fully homomorphic encryption available to programmers.
From ACM TechNews
The Cybersecurity Risks .s. Election Systems Face Heading Into the 2018 Elections
Cybersecurity experts are warning of U.S. voting systems' vulnerability to cyberthreats going into the 2018 midterm and 2020 presidential elections.
From ACM TechNews
Virtual Top Hats Allow Swarming Robots to Fly in Tight Formation
Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have created a team of autonomous flying robots that do not collide or undercut each other.
From ACM TechNews
Scientists Propose Better Battery System For Smart Home se
Researchers have proposed a novel programming solution to optimize power consumption in batteries for use in smart homes.
From ACM TechNews
The Bizarre Quantum Test That Could Keep Your Data Secure
Researchers have been testing the existence of quantum entanglement for several years.
From ACM TechNews
nder Cyberattack: h Researchers Look at How to Catch a 'phisher'
Researchers are studying why phishing attacks are so successful in an attempt to develop the next generation of email filters.
From ACM News
The State of the Car Computer: Forget Horsepower, We Want Megahertz!
If I asked you "how many computing devices do you own?" your mind will probably first jump to your PCs and laptops at home, and then to your smartphones and tablets.
From ACM News
China, Addicted to Bootleg Software, Reels From Ransomware Attack
China is home to the world's largest group of internet users, a thriving online technology scene and rampant software piracy that encapsulates its determination to play by its own set of digital rules.
From ACM TechNews
Tech Majority Disagrees With AI Warnings From Hawking, Musk, and Gates
A new study demonstrates strong public and expert skepticism of warnings about artificial intelligence.
From ACM TechNews
3D-Printed 'bionic Skin' Could Give Robots the Sense of Touch
Researchers have developed a new process for three-dimensionally printing stretchable electronic sensory devices that could enable robots to feel their environment.
From ACM TechNews
Artificial Intelligence Course Creates AI Teaching Assistant
A team of researchers has developed a virtual teacher's assistant, called Jill Watson, using technologies from IBM's Watson platform.
From ACM News
Going Retro With Rube
Old-time machine contest fosters STEM creativity.
From ACM News
Charles Babbage Left a Computer Program in Turin in 1840. Here It Is.
In autumn of 1840, Charles Babbage arrived in Turin for a meeting of Italian scientists, where he gave the only public explanation of the workings of his "Analytical Engine."
From ACM News
Seeing with Your Tongue
The climbers at Earth Treks gym, in Golden, Colorado, were warming up: stretching, strapping themselves into harnesses, and chalking their hands as they prepared to scale walls stippled with multicolored plastic holds.