folknits | Reading

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260131084125.htm

A strange, glowing form of matter called dusty plasma turns out to be incredibly sensitive to magnetic fields. Researchers found that even weak fields can change how tiny particles grow, simply by nudging electrons into new motions. In lab experiments, this caused nanoparticles to form faster and remain smaller. The discovery could influence everything from nanotechnology design to our understanding of space plasmas.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260131084125.htm

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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260131084129.htm

nside electrochemical devices, strong electric fields dramatically alter how water molecules behave. New research shows that these fields speed up water dissociation not by lowering energy costs, but by increasing molecular disorder once ions form. The reaction becomes entropy-driven—exactly the opposite of what happens in ordinary water. The findings also reveal that intense fields can push water from neutral to highly acidic, with major implications for hydrogen production.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260131084129.htm

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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260131082433.htm

Lowering salt in everyday foods could quietly save lives. Researchers found that modest sodium reductions in bread, packaged foods, and takeout meals could significantly reduce heart disease and stroke rates in France and the U.K. The key advantage is that people would not need to alter their eating habits at all. Small changes to the food supply could deliver large, long-term health benefits.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260131082433.htm

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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260131082428.htm

Archaeologists in central China have uncovered evidence that early humans were far more inventive than long assumed. Excavations at the Xigou site reveal advanced stone tools, including the earliest known examples of tools fitted with handles in East Asia, dating back as far as 160,000 years. These discoveries show that ancient populations in the region carefully planned, crafted, and adapted their tools to meet changing environments.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260131082428.htm

ladyseishou_feed

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260131082418.htm

Termites did not evolve complex societies by adding new genetic features. Instead, scientists found that they became more social by shedding genes tied to competition and independence. A shift to monogamy removed the need for sperm competition, while food sharing shaped who became workers or future kings and queens. Together, these changes helped termites build colonies that can number in the millions.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260131082418.htm

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Posted by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

https://www.yarnharlot.ca/2026/01/itty-bitty/

https://www.yarnharlot.ca/?p=9858

I am in limbo – I just finished my SISC socks, they’re off the needles and gone for a bath, and I don’t pull the next bag until the 1st of the month so I’ve got the littlest of sock breaks. I’m working on that Craghill Shawl but it doesn’t have a deadline and I’m under-motivated. The rows are getting long and I think I’m into a cheaper thrill right now.

I am really, really motivated to make a baby set but the yarn hasn’t arrived (I think it might today) and once that happens I am all in on that, since the baby might have gotten slightly ahead of me there. I need to start a sweater for Elliot (he has a special request) but the yarn for that is en route as well. I was about to wander aimlessly upstairs and turn my attention to one of the multitude of projects I’ve put down over the last months, when I thought to have a look at “The Big Plan.”

The Big Plan is far less fancy (or big, or trademarked) than it sounds, but like the Self-Imposed Sock Club (SISC) and The Long Range Planning Box for completed items, it’s one of my better ideas. You know how you’ll be minding your own business and you’ll see a project or have an idea or remember there’s an occasion coming up and you think “oh, I’ve got to get on that this year”. When that happens to me, I open my phone or computer and go to a note called “The Big Plan” and jot down whatever it happens to be. On there right now is a sewing project I don’t want to forget to get ahead on for next Christmas, and a note that a friend who makes soap could use some hand knit facecloths for her birthday, some ornaments I want to give as a Hallowe’en gift that it would be smart to make in the summer, that I need to gather pinecones for something else -whenever I see them through the year, and that (and this is that part that is relevant to this post) this is a year I have to knit and make another Advent Calendar, and that it would be super smart to knit a few of the ornaments each month so that it can’t get on top of me. (There’s also a note to buy the felt to make it when I see it on sale but that’s not as important to you.)

So- in this perfect moment of in-betwixt idleness, I’m going to fill my needles with a few of those little things and tuck them away (in The Long Range Planning Box, obviously) so that November Stephanie has only nice things to say about me.

If you’d like to play along, today I’m making a teeny hat and a maybe a tiny sock. I bet the baby sweater yarn is here when I’m done.

https://www.yarnharlot.ca/2026/01/itty-bitty/

https://www.yarnharlot.ca/?p=9858

ladyseishou_feed

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260130041101.htm

People who naturally stay up late may be putting their hearts under added strain as they age. A large study tracking more than 300,000 adults found that middle-aged and older night owls had poorer overall heart health and a higher risk of heart attack and stroke than those who were active earlier in the day, with the effect especially pronounced in women. Much of this elevated risk appeared to stem from lifestyle factors common among evening types, including smoking and inadequate sleep.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260130041101.htm

ladyseishou_feed

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260130041056.htm

Men start developing heart disease earlier than women, with risks rising faster beginning around age 35, according to long-term research. The difference is driven mainly by coronary heart disease, not stroke or heart failure. Traditional risk factors explain only part of the gap. The findings suggest earlier screening could help catch problems before serious damage occurs.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260130041056.htm

ladyseishou_feed

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260129080437.htm

A new drug developed by Australian researchers has shown promising results in reducing sepsis in a Phase II clinical trial involving 180 patients. The carbohydrate-based treatment works by calming a dangerous immune reaction that can cause organ failure. With no specific anti-sepsis therapy currently available, the findings mark a major step forward. Researchers now aim to move into Phase III trials.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260129080437.htm

ladyseishou_feed

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260129080446.htm

On a remote Alaskan island, gray wolves are rewriting the rulebook by hunting sea otters — a behavior few scientists ever expected to see. Researchers are now uncovering how these coastal wolves adapted to marine hunting, what it means for land–sea ecosystems, and whether this ancient predator–prey relationship is re-emerging as sea otters recover.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260129080446.htm

The Other Side

Reading

Weak magnetism causes big changes in a strange state of matter

Electric fields flip the rules of water chemistry

A quiet change in everyday foods could save thousands of lives

Ancient tools in China are forcing scientists to rethink early humans

How gene loss and monogamy built termite mega societies

Itty bitty

Late bedtimes are linked to higher heart disease risk

The early turning point when men’s heart risk accelerates

Breakthrough sepsis drug shows promise in human trial

Gray wolves are hunting sea otters and no one knows how

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