Peter Piper’s Pesticide

If you can’t stand the heat… Stay off of my grass? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. The grasslands in the United States are looking a little THIN these days! Conservationists are sowing new seeds to fatten up our amber waves of grain. Unfortunately, the

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Butane on Wheels

Bicycles. Green energy… in more ways than one! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Hydrocarbons like butane are chemicals used in fuels. Fuels use the energy stored in the bonds of these molecules. Bonds can hold a lot of energy, but too much makes them

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Mushroom Counterfeiters

Counterfeit mushrooms? That’s nothing to sniff at. This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Italian alba white truffles are a fungal delicacy. Connoisseurs love their distinct aroma and taste. So much so, that their going rate is about three thousand dollars per pound! Unfortunately, the aroma

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Nano Bandaid

Cut yourself shaving? Forget the wad of toilet paper—apply Frankenstein solution! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying: It’s actually called hemostat solution, initially developed by a team of scientists at MIT. It works by bathing injured tissue in a blend of peptides, small fragments

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Garbage Gobblers

What do cockroaches and plastics have in common? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying…they both can last for THOUSANDS of years! Its estimated that there are more than five TRILLION plastic bits floating in our oceans. That’s more than the number of stars found

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Methane Roundup

Scientists are fighting climate change, one burp at a time! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. The target? Methane. This gas is much more effective than others at trapping heat in the atmosphere. One source of methane is cows. Cow’s stomachs contain microorganisms that ferment

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Team Caffeine

Guzzle that morning latte, in the name of … teamwork? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. We all know the coffee maker is the new watering hole. A lot of business gets done over a cup of joe. But does coffee actually help us work

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Bar-B-Q-rius

Ah, summertime…the smell of barbecue and… CANCER? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Summer barbecues are delicious and fun! Unfortunately, eating grilled meat and inhaling smoke increases your risk of cancer. But is that the only risk? Professor Eddy Zeng and his students from Jinan

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TB or Not TB?

Is that special glow. . . T-B? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Tuberculosis causes around two million deaths a year. And it can be difficult to diagnose! The test for poorer, densely populated places is over one hundred years old—and it’s often WRONG! Carolyn

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Tooth Toughener

Munch, munch, munch ouch! Not another cavity! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Cavities are a pain. To slow their formation, we add fluoride to toothpaste. But fluoride doesn’t help with cavities once they form. What if something else could? Researchers at the University of

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