Don’t count your HENS before they’re hatched! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. In 2015, the gender-neutral pronoun “hen” was added to the official Swedish dictionary. In Swedish that could mean any person, regardless of gender! The word has been in widespread use there since
Continue readingTag: communication
Netflix and Chat
Why is Cookie Monster blue? Discuss! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Does your kid watch too much TV? Researchers believe that excessive screen time can negatively impact a child’s development. But can we reduce its harmful effects? Enter Prachi Shah at University of Michigan
Continue readingFriendly Felines
If you love cats, blink once! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Unless your kitty is Garfield, you don’t really know what it’s thinking. Cats can’t speak! So, how CAN we communicate with our feline friends? Tasmin Humphrey at the University of Sussex says: it’s
Continue readingBabbling Baby Birds
Boo Boo, stop parroting everything I say! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science… saying… Babies seem to know what they’re talking about… but how do we go from “goo-goo-ga-ga” to sophisticated languages? Rory Eggleston and Karl Berg from the University of Texas looked at birds
Continue readingTalkin’ Batty
HELP! Turn on the bat-signal! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Like birds, bats have wings. But they’re actually mammals like humans! Like us, they’re social creatures and have to learn to talk to one another. How? Ahana Fernandez, from Leibniz Institute for Evolution and
Continue readingFast Friends
First date – AMAZING! We talked non-stop for three hours! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. You’ve got a friend in me! Yes, Woody and Buzz are inseparable. But what’s the “secret sauce” makes two people click? Emma Templeton and a team from Dartmouth College
Continue readingWhen Pigs Talk
Doctor Doolittle isn’t the only one who can speak Pig Latin! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Pigs are deeper than you think. They have complex emotions and ways of communicating. But can we humans ever TRULY understand them? Enter Elodie Briefer from the University
Continue readingSuper-Script
How do YOU channel your inner Aaron Sorkin? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. When we’re gabbing with our besties, the words just tumble out like an episode of The West Wing. But from where? How DO our brains produce the quick back-and-forth of conversational
Continue readingCrabby Bellies
GRRR!!! Keep your distance! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying… Is that MY stomach growling? Sorry, I’m just hungry! But for crabs, that sound could mean they’re HANGRY! Think hungry AND angry! Enter Jennifer Taylor from Scripps Institution of Oceanography and colleagues. They study
Continue readingSinging Seals
Arf! Arf! Is that seal trying to tell me something?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. That barking noise seals make is just the BEGINNING of their communication skills! Harbor seals can also imitate sounds, like parrots! And Laura Borda and her team from Max
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