To the moon and beyond! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. To support life on the moon, oxygen is crucial! But there are no plants for photosynthesis. What can we do?! Enter Yingfang Yao from Nanjing University and team. They analyzed a sample of moon-dirt
Continue readingTag: plants
Moon Plane(e)ts
How do you grow a flower on the moon? You planet! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Three, two, one, blast off! Next stop? The Moon! In nineteen sixty-nine, Neil Armstrong was the first human to step on the Moon. Since then, scientists have wondered:
Continue readingPlants’ 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 readingGreen Light Plant Flight
It’s a bird, it’s a plane . . . it’s a – scientist in a helicopter!? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Living beings, like plants, reflect light in unique spiral patterns into the environment. Non-living things — like buildings and bridges – not so
Continue readingFighting Fire with Fire
Does like cure like when it comes to… WILDFIRES? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Fire season is coming! One way to help avoid the destruction? Prescribed burns! This technique has been used to control wildfires for years. But it can cause the soil to
Continue readingRice the Flag
When the flag goes up – it’s suppertime! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Flag leaves are the last leaves to appear on a rice plant – signaling that it’s ready to produce food! They also contribute around HALF the nutrients we get in rice.
Continue readingPlant Magicians
If you want to survive – hide in plain sight! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. In the mountains of southwest China grows a lucrative treasure called Fritillaria. This flower is commonly used in traditional medicine and comes in THREE colors – gray, brown, and
Continue readingChewing Out Invasives
Who doesn’t love a delicious Mimosa? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying no, not the cocktail – the plant! It’s an invasive shrub, native to Africa. And water buffalo love it! But when Mozambique’s civil war wiped out large leaf-eaters in Gorongosa National Park,
Continue readingPlanting Secrets
Plants and climate change: a love-hate relationship! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Carbon dioxide, or CO2, is a major contributor to climate change. But it’s also a plant food source. When the sun shines, plants turn CO2 into food! So, back when there were
Continue readingBumblebeer
Bees can sting, but can they make you…tipsy? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Brewing beer is an age-old tradition, and it’s all thanks to YEAST. There are nearly two thousand kinds of yeast on Earth. But only two types are used to brew beer:
Continue reading