But mom! EVERYONE’S doing it! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. A sudden flash of color, and a hundred fish change direction in unison! This fish ballet confuses predators, helping fish escape. But when fleeing danger, is it all for one, or a free-for-all? Lauren
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Wolf to Woof
Puppies are fast learners! But imagine training a WOLF PUP to sit! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Dogs started out with a wild streak, as wolves. But for fourteen thousand years, they’ve been our faithful companions. Hannah Salomons and colleagues at Duke University wondered
Continue readingFish Cod-Munication
Want to talk to animals? It might not take Dr. Doolittle! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. When we give a presentation, a pause is important for … EMPHASIS! But could the dramatic pause be meaningful for animal communication, too? Enter Tsunehiko Kohashi and team
Continue readingBin Birds
Who’s taking on racoons for the title of ULTIMATE DUMPSTER DIVER??!! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying – SURPRISE! It’s the Sulphur-crested cockatoo! Before twenty-eighteen, these pranksters were reported opening garbage cans in three suburbs around Sydney, Australia. They used their beaks and feet
Continue readingSurfing Sharks
“Just keep swimming…just keep swimming….” This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Imagine having to constantly walk in order to breathe. Sounds exhausting — but that’s a shark’s reality! Sharks MUST keep swimming to get oxygen over their gills. Do they EVER get a break? Yannis
Continue readingScuba Lizards
So! How long can YOU hold your breath under water? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. We humans need an oxygen tank to go scuba diving. What would a lizard use? Christopher Boccia at University of Toronto, Canada, and an international team study small anole
Continue readingOcean Jazz
What’s a whale’s favorite music jam? Apparently: the bluuuuueees! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Forget Coachella – there’s a BIGGER music festival happening… deep in the north Atlantic ocean! The headliners? Breeding bowhead whales! All winter long, these whales flirt by singing songs to
Continue readingYou First
Come on in, the water’s fine! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Brrrr, a freezing lake! But your buddy dives right in! Building up your courage — you too take the plunge! This is called social learning, and humans do it all the time. But
Continue readingMicro Personality
That body language seems somehow… FISHY! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Confident strides, head held up high OR hunched back, looking for cracks in the pavement? The way we move says a lot about our personalities! Is this also true for ANIMALS? Joseph Bailey
Continue readingKangaroo Talk
Voyage into the wild… to chat?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Are Dr. Doolittle and Disney princesses the ONLY ones who can talk with animals? Of course not! All pet owners can understand their fluffy friends – and vice versa. But what about the
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