Light Wash

Here’s a bright idea for washing your veggies! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. You’ve heard how UV light could kill germs! Hospitals use this ALL THE TIME. But having to leave the light on constantly… Imagine the bill! What if you could clean it

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That Platypus Glow

Fluorescent platypus seen under UV light

What has fur and GLOWS brighter than a Tyra Banks Smize?! (That’s a smile with your eyes.) This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Some animals really light up a room…BUT only under ultraviolet light. This is called biofluorescence. Scientists believe mammals like possums use it

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Technicolor Vision

It’s a truly brilliant world… for hummingbirds! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Pretty blues! Vibrant reds! We humans see colors because of special cells in our eyes called cones. Hummingbirds have an extra cone that detects UV light — light from the sun WE can’t see.

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Erasable Plastic

Plastic waterbottle floating underwater in ocean.

Plastic ocean trash…Now you see it! Now you don’t? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with The Loh Down on Science. More than twelve million tons of plastic gets lost in the ocean every year! That’s the weight of almost SIXTY THOUSAND blue whales! Can’t we make some of that plastic

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I See UVC

Can cameras “see” invisible light? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with The Loh Down on Science. My sunscreen protects against U-V-A and U-V-B, but what about U-V-C!?!?!? Yes, there is a THIRD type of U-V light! Fortunately we are protected from it by the earth’s ozone. UNfortunately, there are weak

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Life in Space

Men are from Mars. Women, from Venus. Really? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying not exactly. But check out this intriguing new cosmic discovery from the University of Nice. Researchers there were simulating conditions commonly found in comets. Why? To see if life might

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Flash Flu Fix

Travelling on an airplane this flu season? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. AH-CHOO! Scootch scootch! Between the close quarters and recycled air, there’s a good chance you’ll catch something. You can try to protect yourself by wearing a mask or popping vitamin C. But

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