The One Ring

You too can be LORD of the RINGS! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. This spring’s fashion statement? Wearable tech! Smart watches, clothing, earbuds… now smart RINGS?! Shwetak Patel’s team at University of Washington developed new technology that would thrill even Gollum! Inspired by smart

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Creature Feature

Got scary movies on the brain? Mmm…. BRAAAAIIINS….! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. We’re fascinated by cinema ghosts, ghouls – and zombies! Is it the thrill, or just masochism? Matthew Hudson and colleagues from the University of Turku investigated. They screened a scary-movie double

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Now You See Me

Now you see it, now you don’t! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying….PRESTO! Ever seen a magician make something… disappear? What’s the secret?  Magic lever? Hidden trap door? We know the disappearing act is always just that… an ACT. Until now! Paul Kohl and

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Dance Pants

Bellbottoms, knee-highs, and perms, oh my! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Fashion – it NEVER stops changing! What used to be HIP is now squaresville. And technology moves even faster than style. Who can keep up? Ramses Martinez and his team at Purdue University

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Vampire Bacteria

I VANT to suck your… biofuel? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Algae can be made into a biofuel that’s greener than gasoline – literally! But a mysterious killer has been sucking its life out. What causes these healthy aquatic creatures to become a rotting

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Dirty Drinking

What do trees, coastlines, and pineapples have in common? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Answer? They’re all FRACTALS, shapes that repeat as you zoom in. Their aesthetically-pleasing geometry inspires artists, writers, and even scientists! Sagar Khare’s team from Rutgers University felt drawn to fractals…

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On the Rocks

Beware the rock-eating monsters of Terror Island! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Sounds like an old Vincent Price B-movie plot, but be warned… these creatures are REAL! So found an international team of researchers led by Reuben Shipway from Northeastern University. They identified a

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Mind Reader

You too can have ESP! It’s as easy as…putting on your hat? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Ever wonder what your friends are REALLY thinking? For example, do they actually love your new haircut? Well, knowing the answer might be possible – thanks to

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Not-So-Final Frontier

Space — the final frontier! And your next vacation destination? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying B-Y-O-O! Bring your own oxygen – there isn’t any! But what if space is more habitable than we thought? Caltech researchers Yunxi Yao and Konstantinos Giapis reached for

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Honey, I’m Cured!

A spoonful of sugar helps the… INFECTION go down? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science saying…ah-CHOO! Colds are the WORST! That cruddy, fatigued, phlegmy feeling! But for people with cystic fibrosis, it never ends. This hereditary disease coats the body’s glands in mucus, causing lung

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