Plants’ Sunscreen

Do plants get SUNBURNS?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. It’s great to have some fun in the sun… for humans and vegetation alike! We get some vitamin D, they get some energy to make food… But sunlight on the UV spectrum is dangerous… It

Continue reading

Serenading Ribbits

They say love is a mixtape… of frog songs?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down On Science.  We’ve all done crazy things for love, but joining a boy band?! Frogs do something similar during mating season. But if everyone’s doing it… who gets the most groupies? Enter

Continue reading

Feel the Thoughts

You think you’re feeling just fine–but are you? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.  We often connect BRAINS with thinking and HEARTS with feeling. But can FEELINGS affect our thoughts??   Enter Hadas Okon-Singer from University of Haifa and colleagues. They wondered how thoughts and feelings

Continue reading

Case of the Cravings

Take a trip to the deli… or go for doughnuts with jelly!  This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science saying… Who’s calling the shots… your brain or your belly?! A BALANCED diet is critical for survival. So WHY do we sometimes crave a bacon cheeseburger or

Continue reading

Space DNA

Twinkle twinkle little star… “how I wonder what WE are???” This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.  Who hasn’t stared at the stars wondering where we came from… Did life originate in Earth’s ancient atmospheric soup… Or did it fall from outer space? Yasuhiro Oba and

Continue reading

Treats and Traits

Can you PAW-sitively predict a dog’s personality by its breed? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Friendly golden retrievers. Mischievous huskies. Are these personality differences part of nature…or nurture? Researchers at the University of Massachusetts led by Kathleen Morrill wanted to know. They collected thousands

Continue reading

Reef Song

Darling, it’s better down where it’s wetter, under the sea!  This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Sebastian the crab – from The Little Mermaid – wasn’t wrong. But did he really think Ariel could be convinced with a song? Well, maybe she should have been…

Continue reading

Green Driving

UGH! Stuck at ANOTHER red light!  This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Don’t you just HATE stop-and-go traffic? It’s not only frustrating, it increases fuel use and emissions! That’s a lose-LOSE! Could SELF-DRIVING vehicles offer a solution? Enter Vindula Jayawardana and Cathy Wu from the

Continue reading

Sleepy Socializers

Wake up on the wrong side of the bed? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying – I hope not! A bad night’s sleep can leave you feeling grumpy and irritable. Why?? Enter Lieve van Egmond and colleagues at Uppsala University in Sweden. Using eye-tracking

Continue reading

Changing His-TAR-y

Today, the elephant in the room is … a mammoth? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Remember the mammoth, Manny, from the Ice Age movies? Then you can probably picture SOME ancient animals. However, the artists’ renderings – or PALEO ART – we’ve had for

Continue reading