Link About It: This Week’s Picks

Revealing Banksy's indentity, NASA's new invention, the darkest pigment in the world and more in our look at the web

1. Banksy’s True Identity Using a technique called “geographic profiling”—which is mostly used to catch serial criminals—scientists at Queen Mary University of London claim to have discovered the true identity of the infamous street artist Banksy. After building a geoprofile from the locations of 140 of Bansky’s suspected artworks, the team was able to pinpoint different “hot spots” all strongly linked to one individual: Robin …

The Darkest Pigment in the World

British artist Anish Kapoor is currently the only person in the world with the rights to use Vantablack—a pigment so dark, it traps 99.96% of incoming light. Vantablack was first created by British company NanoSystems and is made up of microscopic tubes that capture light and bounce it around internally—allowing just a fraction to escape. It was originally developed for military use, but Kapoor plans …

Instant Learning is Close to Becoming a Reality

Anyone who’s ever studied for a test, prepared for a job interview, or watched The Matrix has probably wished they could instantly download information to their brain. It sounds completely sci-fi, but scientists are on the brink of making it a reality. Researchers at HRL Laboratories have successfully proven that using transcranial direct current stimulation on pilot trainees can rapidly advance their flying skills. The …