Not Just Ocean Breeze

Picture yourself at the beach, waves crashing, salty air on your face. What’s that smell? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. That fresh ocean breeze might not be as clean as you think. Enter Matthew Pendergraft and team from University of California San Diego. They

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Solar Panel Side Hustle

Old MacDonald had a….. solar panel farm? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. We’ve discovered that solar farms cool local weather. Why? Enter Jiaju Guo and team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. They analyzed satellite observations of land conditions, temperature, and vegetation to uncover

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Fighting Fire with Fire

Time to fight fire with fire! Literally! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Wildfires destroy homes and fill the air with harmful smoke. To reduce damage, land managers sometimes light fires on purpose. Carefully controlled, low-intensity burns can minimize future fire risk. But what about

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Trouble for Salmon

Must be something in the water… This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. On rainy days, road runoff carries tiny tire particles into nearby streams. Chemists found these particles release a toxic compound called 6-P-P-D-quinone. But how bad is it for our fishy friends? Enter Bonnie

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The Mighty Almond

Hmm… Do I detect notes of… WASTEWATER?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Picture a bustling winery after harvest… grapes crushed, wine flowing… and wastewater piling up! Every liter of wine produces FOUR liters of toxic wastewater. YUCK! And cleaning it up can be costly

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Accent Makes the Mate

Can birds have… accents?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Zebra finches are tiny songbirds. Each sings a unique tune. Scientists long thought those differences were just individual flair… until now. Enter Daiping Wang and team from Max Planck Institute in Germany. They let machine

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Ancient Forests, Modern Medicine

Before you roll your eyes at ancient remedies… listen!  This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. For centuries, Native American communities used conifer trees to treat pain, weakness, and even paralysis. Could this traditional knowledge hold real medical power?  Enter Alvin Yu and team from University

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Warming the Web

The digital world is warmer than you think. This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Every click online generates heat across thousands of internet servers. Data centers use enormous energy to cool off. Why not put some of that heat to use? Enter Johannes Oltmanns and

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Nature’s Cleanup Crew

Humans are great at making chemicals that never leave. This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. PFAS are “forever pollutants” and they’re EVERYWHERE. Removing them is slow, expensive, and often ineffective.  But, what if nature has a solution? At Texas A&M University, Susie Dai  and team looked

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Lightning Potassium

Is there an early warning system for… seizures? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Seizures often strike when potassium levels in the brain suddenly shift. But SPOTLIGHTING these shifts is hard. Potassium moves fast and in amounts too small to track. Until now… Enter Daishun

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