Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
October 2021
From ACM TechNews
How to Map a Fly Brain in 20 Million Easy Steps
Scientists at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Janelia Research Campus and Google have been mapping the fruit fly brain connectome since 2014.
From ACM TechNews
Australia Considers New Privacy Rules to Protect Children on Social Media
The Australian government is considering legislation that would enable the creation of an online code to prohibit social media from directing children to harmful content.
From ACM TechNews
Chinese Scientists Develop Quantum Computer with 113 Detected Photons
Chinese scientists have developed a quantum computer prototype with 113 detected photons to solve tasks using the classical Gaussian boson sampling (GBS) modeling algorithm.
From ACM TechNews
Behold, the Worm Blob and Its Computerized Twin
A multi-institutional team of scientists devised a computer model for the study of worm blob dynamics.
From ACM TechNews
Robot Taxi Boats Take to the Water in Amsterdam
An autonomous boat taxi is set for deployment in the canals of Amsterdam.
From ACM News
McDonald's Partners With IBM to Replace Drive-Thru Employees With AI
"I'm sorry, Dave. I can't give you fries with that."
From ACM News
The 50-Year-Old Problem That Eludes Theoretical Computer Science
A solution to P vs NP could unlock countless computational problems—or keep them forever out of reach.
From ACM News
Facebook Renames Itself Meta Amid Controversy
The social network wants to be known as a metaverse company.
From ACM TechNews
Ransomware Gang Masquerades as Real Company to Recruit Tech Talent
Researchers said the ransomware group Fin7 has established a counterfeit company to recruit potential technology talent.
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Help Expand Mineral Exploration Using Machine Learning
Researchers at Australia's Curtin University and the Geological Survey of Western Australia are using deep learning to analyze geochemical data to expand mineral exploration in the region.
From ACM TechNews
Mapping the Mind's Eye
Researchers used applied differential geometry to develop a framework to quantify retinotopic maps in V1, one of 14 areas of the brain devoted to visual processing.
From ACM TechNews
Multi-Algorithm Approach Helps Deliver Personalized Medicine for Cancer Patients
Researchers used ensemble-based machine learning algorithms to forecast patients' response to cancer-fighting drugs with high accuracy.
From ACM News
Robot Teams Win DARPA Subterranean Challenge
The teams behind the real and virtual robots named as winners shared a total of $5 million in prize money.
From ACM TechNews
3D-Printed Houses Sprouting Near Austin as Demand for Homes Grows
Two companies plan to start building the largest three-dimensionally (3D)-printed home community in the U.S. next year.
From ACM TechNews
Latest Russian Cyberattack Targeting Hundreds of U.S. Networks
Microsoft warns the Russia-based agency Nobelium has targeted hundreds of U.S. companies and organizations, in its latest cyberattack.
From ACM TechNews
AI Sheds Light on How the Brain Processes Language
Research by neuroscientists suggests the latest predictive language models' underlying mechanism functions similarly to the human brain's language-processing centers.
From ACM TechNews
Big Tech Talent War Threatens Kenya's Startups
Technology giants like Microsoft that have set up operations in Kenya are poaching talent from local startups.
From ACM TechNews
Improved Computer Simulation Can Build Faster, Cleaner, Cheaper Planes
Researchers have enhanced computer modeling to better predict the lift and drag of an airplane's structure, without slowing the speed of calculation.
From ACM TechNews
Imaging System Captures Text From Barely Open Books
A new imaging methodology developed by the University of Rochester's Gregory Heyworth and colleagues can capture text from extremely fragile books.
From ACM News
How to Fix Facebook, According to Facebook Employees
Internal research documents provide a blueprint for solving the company's biggest problems.
From ACM News
The Tech Industry is a 'Boys Club,' New Report Says
While women in tech have some optimism about the future of the industry, they're feeling the effects of being an underrepresented group.
From ACM News
NATO Releases First-Ever Strategy for Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence is one of the seven technological areas which NATO Allies have prioritized for their relevance to defence and security.
From ACM News
Some Artists Found a Lifeline Selling NFTs. Others Worry It's a Trap
Artists are jumping into a market that will pay thousands for their work. But they're running into scams, environmental concerns, and crypto hype.
From ACM TechNews
NASA Challenges Students to Design Moon-Digging Robots
NASA's Lunabotics Junior Contest offers students in grades K-12 the opportunity to design lunar-excavating robots.
From ACM TechNews
Social Media, AI Can Measure Aesthetic Quality of Landscapes
Researchers used deep learning to develop a model that can factor people's aesthetic enjoyment of a landscape into ecosystem service assessments.
From ACM TechNews
A Way to Measure Tech Complexity
An international team of scientists developed a method of quantifying technological complexity through the measurement of fluid human actions.
From ACM News
Intel Falls as Outlook Shows Costly Path to Regain Dominance
Datacenter unit sales decline from major cloud providers.
From ACM News
How AI Could Solve Supply Chain Shortages and Save Christmas
Just-in-time shipping is dead. Long live supply chains stress-tested with AI digital twins.
From ACM News
AI and Sustainability: Where Are We and What's Next?
Researchers are exchanging views and proposing solutions as questions around AI's environmental impact become more urgent.
From ACM News
Facebook Wrestles With the Features It Used to Define Social Networking
Likes and shares made the social media site what it is. Now, company documents show, it's struggling to deal with their effects.