Less is More

Family cooking

What’s the best recipe – add or subtract? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Imagine preparing your aunt’s salsa recipe. A taste, and HMMMM … add extra salt? Or does it need less chili?  How do humans approach such life’s important life challenges? Gabrielle Adams

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Help Needed

Diffusion of responsibility, bystander effect illustration — Stock Image & Photo from depositphotos.com

HELLLP! Somebody nabbed MY grocery cart in the Trader Joe’s parking lot! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. The “bystander effect” claims that individuals are less likely to help when other people are around. But what’s the chance that at least ONE person steps up?  

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Perfection Perception

"How to take the perfect selfie" instructions

It’s hard to be a millennial—when you’re a millennial? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Overachievers. OCD. Helicopter parents. Buzz words, sure, but are these tied to real phenomena? Enter researchers from the UK, Thomas Curran and Andrew Hill. They compiled over one-hundred-and-fifty studies from

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Sweet Sleep

Man and women sleeping next to each other on grass.

Before you kill your quarantine partner, listen up! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Laughter, cuddles, and emotional support AREN’T ALL your partner can give you. Ever wonder WHY you sleep better when you’re sleeping together? Henning Drews and his colleagues from the University of

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Dark Side

Do we all have an “evil twin?”  This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. We’re not proud of our flaws and dark tendencies. Yet, we may secretly cheer for villains like Loki or Lord Voldemort. Why do we fan-out over fictitious bad guys?! Rebecca Krause and

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Poor PRESENTations

You shouldn’t have! No… really… you shouldn’t have.  This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Disappointment… NOT the reaction I want after giving a present. Can gift wrap help guarantee love at first sight?  Jessica Rixom from the University of Nevada and colleagues thought YES… with

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Fake Hand

What if living with OCD could be oh so easy? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Obsessive hand-washing is the norm these days! But for those with obsessive compulsive disorder, repetitive tasks like hand washing can take over their life. Typical OCD treatment comes in

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Binge-Eating Mind

In the immortal words of Homer, “mmmm… donuts!” This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. What’s today’s most common eating disorder? Binge eating! And it’s a major health crisis—more prevalent than breast cancer and HIV. Scientists are hard at work trying to find a solution. Enter

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Face Value

Do we take scientists at face value? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. For better or worse, first impressions are everything. Studies show that people make snap judgments about personality and competence based on looks. Could scientists face the same bias from the public? Does

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Yummy Water

Does water have a flavor? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Our tongue has taste buds to detect if something is sweet, sour, bitter, or salty. But how do we taste water? A team from Caltech may have uncovered the HIDDEN taste of water. How?

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