Rainforest Resilience

Have you heard? 1,000 is the new 30!! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Like giant sponges, rainforests absorb carbon dioxide from the air. This benefits the whole planet! But weather conditions, such as droughts, can reduce this carbon uptake.  In twenty-fifteen, a climate disruption

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Into the Woods

Forest seen from above

Into the woods we go, Hansel, Gretel and… CO2? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. In the musical, the wicked witch was the baddie in the woods. As far as the planet goes, the baddie is greenhouse gases – or CO2. It’s a big contributor

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Rainforest Resilience

Have you heard? 1,000 is the new 30!! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Like giant sponges, rainforests absorb carbon dioxide from the air. This benefits the whole planet! But weather conditions, such as droughts, can reduce this carbon uptake.  In twenty-fifteen, a climate disruption

Continue reading

Into the Woods

Forest seen from above

Into the woods we go, Hansel, Gretel and… CO2? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. In the musical, the wicked witch was the baddie in the woods. As far as the planet goes, the baddie is greenhouse gases – or CO2. It’s a big contributor

Continue reading

Chewing Out Invasives

Branch of mimosa tree with yellow mimosa flowers

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,

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SapQuest

African trees in the dusk

Pop quiz: How many trees are there in West Africa? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Martin Brandt from University of Copenhagen wondered. So with the aid of NASA and an international team, he built a computer program to count trees — using machine learning!

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Tree Lickers

A koala bear sitting in a tree grabbing a branch

THIRSTY…but stuck in a tree?!   This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Sleeping for twenty hours, snacking for the other four? No, it’s not my COVID-nineteen work schedule – it’s a typical koala bear day! But HOW do koalas stay hydrated with such a “BUSY” routine?

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Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

Think YOU’VE got a helpful neighbor? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Good neighbors reach out in times of need. But can plants do the same? Meet Martin Bader and Sebastian Leuzinger from Auckland University of Technology. They were hiking in New Zealand when they

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Chainsaw Bot

Robot lumberjacks? Tell me more! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Lumberjacking is dangerous work for humans. How about for chainsaw-wielding robots? There the problem is power. Climbing gobbles energy, as does holding robots vertically in place. So most climbing ‘bots need huge batteries. Inspired

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