Evercookiesn. pl.
Browser cookies that never expire and cannot be removed from a computer. They conceal themselves in at least eight places on a hard drive to enable persistent tracking by advertisers and vendors.

Uriminzokn.
Korean for “our nation.” It’s the Twitter handle for a shadowy North Korean government agency called Uriminzokkiri, which is using modern social media to spread cold-war-grade agitprop.

Chemical cartographyn.
Mapping a city’s distinctive smells to create a baseline for olfactory detection of suspicious activities—like bomb production. Funded by Darpa, chemical cartographers are recording the signature stench of businesses, from gas stations to dry cleaners.

Metaflexn.
Flexible fabric for invisibility cloaks. An ultrathin lattice of gold, Metaflex can channel light around objects, hiding them from sight—even if they’re moving. At 40 square millimeters or so, the prototype swatches are about large enough to cloak an insect.

—Jonathon Keats ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )