Scent Detectives Define the Smell of Old Books

You know the sensation of pressing your nose into an antique book or walking through a historic library. But we’ve long struggled with the exact adjectives to describe these scents. Thankfully, two University of London researchers have developed guidelines for describing these characteristics through chemical analysis of volatile organic compounds. To translate this academic approach to the sensory world, the team partnered with visitors of …

TLC Wants Fans to Name Their New Album

Their first record in 15 years (and the first without Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes), TLC’s new album still doesn’t have a name. The iconic ’90s R&B group has decided to ask fans for help. After funding the LP on Kickstarter (and reaching a whopping $430K), Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas and Tionna “T-Boz” Watkins have now suggested fans use the comments section to suggest titles. There are …

Link About It: This Week’s Picks

The sounds of icebergs, "seeing" a black hole, Elon Musk's new endeavor and more in our look around the web

1. Keeping Up With the Machines, Elon Musk’s New Program It’s been a week now since serial entrepreneur (and futurist) Elon Musk announced the launch of Neuralink Corp, and to be honest, it’s still on our minds. With this new venture, Musk proposes developing a technology (known as “neural lace”) that would potentially implant electrodes into human brains, allowing us to keep up with the …