jack

https://phys.org/news/2026-01-jupiter-hidden-depths-simulation-planet.html

Spectacular clouds swirl across the surface of Jupiter. These clouds contain water, just like Earth's, but are much denser on the gas giant—so thick that no spacecraft has been able to measure exactly what lies beneath.

https://phys.org/news/2026-01-jupiter-hidden-depths-simulation-planet.html

phys_breaking_feed

https://phys.org/news/2026-01-mass-dwarf-galaxies-merge-clues.html

Using the Subaru Telescope's wide-field camera, astronomers have discovered a previously unknown structure surrounding a tiny satellite galaxy of the Milky Way. The newly discovered structure exhibits features resembling the remnants of past galaxy mergers. This result provides compelling evidence that even extremely low-mass dwarf galaxies may have experienced mergers in their past.

https://phys.org/news/2026-01-mass-dwarf-galaxies-merge-clues.html

phys_breaking_feed

https://phys.org/news/2026-01-scientists-cellular-membrane-thickness-cells.html

Scientists have long known that cellular membranes vary in thickness, but measuring those differences inside actual cells has been out of reach.

https://phys.org/news/2026-01-scientists-cellular-membrane-thickness-cells.html

spikedluv

What I Just Finished Reading: Since last Wednesday I have read/finished reading: Tomb of the Golden Bird (An Amelia Peabody Mystery) by Elizabeth Peters and Running Blind (A Jack Reacher Novel) by Lee Child.

What I am Currently Reading: I just finished the last book yesterday so I haven’t started anything yet, but I’m thinking Husband Material (London Calling) by Alexis Hall.

What I Plan to Read Next: Undecided, but I have several to choose from; I have another library book out and a couple on my own shelf, so it’ll be whatever I’m feeling after I finish this one.

Book 3 of 2026: Tomb of the Golden Bird (An Amelia Peabody Mystery) (Elizabeth Peters)

I really enjoyed this book. Though I'm sad that it's the final book that doesn't include jumping back in time. ( spoilers )

Good story; I'm giving it five hearts. I'm going to miss reading about this family and their adventures. (Though there might be one book that goes back to an earlier time that I might give a try.)

♥♥♥♥♥

Book 4 of 2026: Running Blind (A Jack Reacher Novel) (Lee Child)

Good book. My favorite so far. ( spoilers )

I enjoyed this book and am giving it five hearts.

♥♥♥♥♥

metafilter_feed

Posted by toastyk

https://www.metafilter.com/211822/Claudette-Colvin-predecessor-to-Rosa-Parks-dies

Claudette Colvin, whose 1955 arrest for refusing to give up her seat on a segregated Montgomery bus helped spark the modern civil rights movement, has died. She was 86. Jeannette Theoharis corrects some of the myths and misconceptions about her on BlueSky, including outlining how some in the movement thought Colvin was "too feisty". She recommends Phillip Hoose's book Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice to learn more.

https://www.metafilter.com/211822/Claudette-Colvin-predecessor-to-Rosa-Parks-dies

metafilter_feed

Posted by MisantropicPainforest

https://www.metafilter.com/211821/Good-News-We-can-eat-plastics-again

'A bombshell': doubt cast on discovery of microplastics throughout human body "This is really forcing us to re-evaluate everything we think we know about microplastics in the body. Which, it turns out, is really not very much. Many researchers are making extraordinary claims, but not providing even ordinary evidence."

https://www.metafilter.com/211821/Good-News-We-can-eat-plastics-again

metafilter_feed

Posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries

https://www.metafilter.com/211820/Can-you-wear-the-same-pair-of-socks-more-than-once

Can you wear the same pair of socks more than once?
One study found socks contained the highest microbial count of any other once-worn clothing item.

https://www.metafilter.com/211820/Can-you-wear-the-same-pair-of-socks-more-than-once

phys_breaking_feed

https://phys.org/news/2026-01-nanomaterial-flex-mxene-electrodes-oled.html

The organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology behind flexible cell phones, curved monitors, and televisions could one day be used to make on-skin sensors that show changes in temperature, blood flow, and pressure in real time.

https://phys.org/news/2026-01-nanomaterial-flex-mxene-electrodes-oled.html

phys_breaking_feed

https://phys.org/news/2026-01-ai-genetic-circuit-human-cell.html

There are hundreds of cell types in the human body, each with a specific role spelled out in their DNA. In theory, all it takes for cells to behave in desired ways—for example, getting them to produce a therapeutic molecule or assemble into a tissue graft—is the right DNA sequence. The problem is figuring out what DNA sequence codes for which behavior.

https://phys.org/news/2026-01-ai-genetic-circuit-human-cell.html

phys_breaking_feed

https://phys.org/news/2026-01-major-river-deltas-faster-sea.html

A study published in Nature shows that many of the world's major river deltas are sinking faster than sea levels are rising, potentially affecting hundreds of millions of people in these regions.

https://phys.org/news/2026-01-major-river-deltas-faster-sea.html

phys_breaking_feed

https://phys.org/news/2026-01-polyamines-cellular-decisions-phosphoproteomic-landscape.html

Polyamines are small molecules naturally present in all cells and are critical in guiding cellular decisions, whereas an alteration in the abundance of these metabolites is invariably observed in pathological scenarios such as cancer or aging. Despite decades of research, the mechanisms through which polyamines control cellular decisions have remained obscure.

https://phys.org/news/2026-01-polyamines-cellular-decisions-phosphoproteomic-landscape.html

phys_breaking_feed

https://phys.org/news/2026-01-ai-tools-individual-capabilities-scientific.html

Artificial intelligence promises to accelerate scientific discovery and open new frontiers of inquiry. But new research from James Evans (Faculty Co-Director of Novel Intelligence; Max Palevsky Professor of Sociology & Data Science; and Director of the Knowledge Lab) and colleagues reveals how AI tools are expanding individual scientists' capabilities but narrowing the collective scope of science.

https://phys.org/news/2026-01-ai-tools-individual-capabilities-scientific.html

chickenfeet

https://operaramblings.blog/2026/01/14/the-likht-ensemble-at-the-leah-posluns-theatre/

phys_breaking_feed

https://phys.org/news/2026-01-ignites-space-ball-flame.html

When fire breaks out in the low-gravity, high-stakes conditions inside spacecraft or space stations, it behaves very differently than back here on Earth.

https://phys.org/news/2026-01-ignites-space-ball-flame.html

phys_breaking_feed

https://phys.org/news/2026-01-indoor-ozone-reaction-products-blood.html

Ozone that protects us from the sun's harmful UV rays, when in an indoor space, reacts with oils present on skin, wall paint, or even cooking oil to produce chemicals that negatively impact cardiovascular health.

https://phys.org/news/2026-01-indoor-ozone-reaction-products-blood.html

phys_breaking_feed

https://phys.org/news/2026-01-blue-jets-lightning-strange.html

Lightning has captured people's fascination for millennia. It's embedded in mythology, religion and popular culture. Think of Thor in Norse mythology or Indra in Hinduism.

https://phys.org/news/2026-01-blue-jets-lightning-strange.html

james_davis_nicoll

...Wait, we're supposed to believe that it's the rebels who are wrong?

Side-Eyeing Science Fiction’s Love of Empire

phys_breaking_feed

https://phys.org/news/2026-01-hydrogel-cilia-standard-microrobotics.html

Cilia are micrometer-sized biological structures that occur frequently in nature. Their characteristic high-frequency, three-dimensional beating motions (5–40 Hz) play indispensable roles inside the body.

https://phys.org/news/2026-01-hydrogel-cilia-standard-microrobotics.html

phys_breaking_feed

https://phys.org/news/2026-01-physics-foam-strangely-resembles-ai.html

Foams are everywhere: soap suds, shaving cream, whipped toppings and food emulsions like mayonnaise. For decades, scientists believed that foams behave like glass, their microscopic components trapped in static, disordered configurations.

https://phys.org/news/2026-01-physics-foam-strangely-resembles-ai.html

phys_breaking_feed

https://phys.org/news/2026-01-homo-habilis-oldest-skeleton-date.html

An international research team has unveiled a significant discovery in human paleontology: an exceptionally well-preserved Homo habilis skeleton dating back more than 2 million years.

https://phys.org/news/2026-01-homo-habilis-oldest-skeleton-date.html

Network

Jupiter's hidden depths: Simulation suggests planet holds 1.5 times more oxygen than the sun

Do even low-mass dwarf galaxies merge? New clues from the outer stars of a Milky Way satellite

Scientists measure cellular membrane thickness inside cells for the first time

Wednesday Reading Meme & Books 3 & 4 of 2026

Claudette Colvin, predecessor to Rosa Parks, dies

Good News: We can eat plastics again

Can you wear the same pair of socks more than once?

A nanomaterial flex—MXene electrodes help OLED display technology shine, while bending and stretchin

First-time use of AI for genetic circuit design demonstrated in a human cell line

Major river deltas are sinking faster than sea-level rise, study shows

Polyamines guide cellular decisions by altering the phosphoproteomic landscape, study finds

AI tools are expanding individual capabilities while contracting scientific attention, research find

More Holocaust related music

What happens when fire ignites in space? 'A ball of flame'

Indoor ozone reaction products can make blood thicker

From bolts to blue jets, lightning comes in many strange forms

Side-Eyeing Science Fiction’s Love of Empire

Hydrogel cilia set new standard in microrobotics

Physics of foam strangely resembles AI training

Homo habilis: The oldest and most complete skeleton discovered to date