Fearless Gut

Should I follow my brain or my heart? How about my gut?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with The Loh Down on Science. Our guts are filled with microbiomes made of viruses, bacteria, and fungi. These microorganisms have a HUGE impact on our health. Even small changes affect immunity and

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Salamander Limbs

Oh my aching joints! If only knees grew on trees! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. When a salamander gets grabbed by the tail – off it comes. He just grows a new one! Amphibians that can grow back limbs have special proteins known as

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Hummingbird Hustle

Want to drive the chicks wild? Shake a tail feather! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Nature is filled with mating dances. Peacocks shake their tails, spiders shimmy, and flamingos Flamenco. They all boogie to their own beat, but is the timing of their two-step

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Counting Bee

Counting really IS the bees knees! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. We count on bees to serve as nature’s top pollinator. Speaking of counting… How DO bees keep track of all those flowers? At Queen Mary University of London, Vera Vasas studies how bees

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Once Upon A Time

Once upon a time, a tale as OLD as time was created. This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, with a story about stories. What is the origin of our beloved fantastical folk tales? The nineteenth century Brothers Grimm got most of the credit and lived

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Electric Spideyland

My Spidey-sense is tingling! Is there a storm on the way? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Like Spider-Man, spiders release a line of silk and then LEAP into the air. This is called ballooning, and it’s how spiders travel far and wide. Some can

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The Secret Life of Cells

Cells can have nuclei, mitochondria and… family secrets? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. We each have a family tree of ancestors. Turns out, our cells also have a family tree! Doctors can use them to isolate diseased cells. But no one has created a

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Spider Bright

The latest designer colors could be coming to you soon courtesy of… tarantula hair? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Researchers at the University of Akron are interested in spider hair. Specifically, the hairs of the Metallic Blue Ornamental tarantula. This giant spider gets its

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Chilly Tomatoes

No one wants rotten tomatoes. But do you want cold ones? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Sure, tomatoes stay fresh longer in the fridge. But as frustrated chefs and picky eaters know, they also lose their flavor! Why? Harry Klee from the Plant Innovation

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Chef’s Secret

Baking soda – so many uses! Teeth brushing, fridge-freshening – your…spleen?? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Your spleen is a blood filter and infection fighter! Like a pumped-up boxer in the ring – if you’re threatened by infection, it fights back by releasing M-one

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