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An edited collection of advanced computing news from Communications of the ACM, ACM TechNews, other ACM resources, and news sites around the Web.


Does a Quantum Equation Govern Some of the ­niverse's Large Structures?
From ACM News

Does a Quantum Equation Govern Some of the ­niverse's Large Structures?

Researchers who want to predict the behavior of systems governed by quantum mechanics—an electron in an atom, say, or a photon of light traveling through space—typically...

FBI Chief Signals Need to ­nderstand Potential Threats Tied to Cryptocurrency
From ACM News

FBI Chief Signals Need to ­nderstand Potential Threats Tied to Cryptocurrency

FBI Director Christopher Wray on Wednesday said the bureau must be prepared to confront a new set of emerging cyber threats.

Google Researchers Are Learning How Machines Learn
From ACM News

Google Researchers Are Learning How Machines Learn

Machines are starting to learn tasks on their own. They are identifying faces, recognizing spoken words, reading medical scans and even carrying on their own conversations...

Wanna See Around Corners? Better Get Yourself a Laser
From ACM News

Wanna See Around Corners? Better Get Yourself a Laser

You can't see the bunny, but the picosecond laser certainly can.

AI's Dirty Little Secret: It's Powered by People
From ACM News

AI's Dirty Little Secret: It's Powered by People

There's a dirty little secret about artificial intelligence: It's powered by hundreds of thousands of real people.

The Decentralized Internet Is Here, With Some Glitches
From ACM News

The Decentralized Internet Is Here, With Some Glitches

I usually write in Google's online word processor Google Docs, even when noting the company's shortcomings.

Has Dopamine Got ­s Hooked on Tech?
From ACM News

Has Dopamine Got ­s Hooked on Tech?

In an unprecedented attack of candour, Sean Parker, the 38-year-old founding president of Facebook, recently admitted that the social network was founded not to...

Astronomers Detect Light from the ­niverse's First Stars
From ACM News

Astronomers Detect Light from the ­niverse's First Stars

Astronomers have for the first time spotted long-sought signals of light from the earliest stars ever to form in the Universe—around 180 million years after the...

Enigma: Up Close with a Nazi Cipher Machine
From ACM News

Enigma: Up Close with a Nazi Cipher Machine

A black metal mechanical device resembling a typewriter sits in a wooden box.

How Flashing Lights and Pink Noise Might Banish Alzheimer's, Improve Memory and More
From ACM News

How Flashing Lights and Pink Noise Might Banish Alzheimer's, Improve Memory and More

In March 2015, Li-Huei Tsai set up a tiny disco for some of the mice in her laboratory. For an hour each day, she placed them in a box lit only by a flickering...

Curiosity Tests a New Way to Drill on Mars
From ACM News

Curiosity Tests a New Way to Drill on Mars

NASA's Mars Curiosity rover has conducted the first test of a new drilling technique on the Red Planet since its drill stopped working reliably.

If There's Life on Saturn's Moon Enceladus, It Might Look Like This
From ACM News

If There's Life on Saturn's Moon Enceladus, It Might Look Like This

Saturn's moon Enceladus has become an alien-hunting hot spot, and not just for the tinfoil hat crowd.

­ncovering the Secrets of the 'Girl With a Pearl Earring'
From ACM News

­ncovering the Secrets of the 'Girl With a Pearl Earring'

"How did the 'Girl With a Pearl Earring' come to life? What steps did Vermeer take to make this painting?"

How Did Life Begin? It's Chemistry 101, but in Space
From ACM News

How Did Life Begin? It's Chemistry 101, but in Space

How did life start? There may not be a bigger question.

Forecasts of Genetic Fate Just Got a Lot More Accurate
From ACM News

Forecasts of Genetic Fate Just Got a Lot More Accurate

When Amit Khera explains how he predicts disease, the young cardiologist's hands touch the air, arranging imaginary columns of people: 30,000 who have suffered...

AI Trained to Spot Heart Disease Risks ­sing Retina Scan
From ACM News

AI Trained to Spot Heart Disease Risks ­sing Retina Scan

The idea behind using a neural network for image recognition is that you don't have to tell it what to look for in an image.

Serious Quantum Computers Are Finally Here. What Are We Going to Do with Them?
From ACM News

Serious Quantum Computers Are Finally Here. What Are We Going to Do with Them?

Inside a small laboratory in lush countryside about 50 miles north of New York City, an elaborate tangle of tubes and electronics dangles from the ceiling. This...

Deep Learning for Biology
From ACM News

Deep Learning for Biology

Four years ago, scientists from Google showed up on neuroscientist Steve Finkbeiner's doorstep.

Multidisciplinary Team Receives DARPA Award to Develop Novel Magnetic Materials
From ACM TechNews

Multidisciplinary Team Receives DARPA Award to Develop Novel Magnetic Materials

Researchers have received a U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency award to develop novel magnetic materials by unlocking the power of skyrmions.

Programming a DNA Clock
From ACM News

Programming a DNA Clock

Nature is a master at constructing biological machines and circuits, including the ones that maintain the body's internal clock, copy genes or help cells move. ...
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