Loh Down Staff – Page 8 – The Loh Down On Science

Slippery Swimmers

October 9, 2018 Loh Down Staff

Want to swim like Michael Phelps? Learn from a swordfish! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Swordfish are known for their iconic sword-shaped bills. But did you know they can swim sixty miles per hour?! That makes them the fastest swimmers on Earth! What’s their

Sweets and Sweeties

October 5, 2018 Loh Down Staff

Could the key to a happy marriage be more sugar? Literally? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Meet Brad Bushman from Ohio State University. He evaluated the relationships of a hundred married couples. Then he gave each husband and each wife their own, bizarre take-home

Chainsaw Bot

October 2, 2018 Loh Down Staff

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

Monster Fossil

September 28, 2018 Loh Down Staff

Hey baby, what’s your state fossil? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying: Learn from our mistakes: Don’t use that line. For the record, California’s state fossil is the saber-toothed tiger, of course! Naming fossils is the easy part. Finding where they go on the

Climate of Conquest

September 21, 2018 Loh Down Staff

Were Genghis Khan’s conquests a product of . . . nice weather? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. The Mongols were bad dudes, but they kind of came out of nowhere. One day they were a bunch of warring tribes, the next they conquered Korea,

Foot-Flaggin’ Frogs

September 14, 2018 Loh Down Staff

Waving the white flag has a seductive new meaning! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying surrender — to the power of amphibian love. Meet the Bornean rock frog. These creatures live near waterfalls, and enjoy long hops on the beach. However, these romantic scenes

Brainless Learning

September 7, 2018 Loh Down Staff

Do you really need a brain to learn? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down On Science saying, maybe not—If you’re a slime mold! Those are single-celled organisms with a remarkably cooperative attitude. Individual cells come together into large colonies that appear to behave like single organisms. These

Pain-Free Family

August 28, 2018 Loh Down Staff

Which hurts more—creeping barefoot across a bed of hot coals, or shoving razor sharp knives into your arms? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying: Neither! At least for members of certain street-performing family from Pakistan. All six members were born with the inability to

Smartphone Psychiatry

August 17, 2018 Loh Down Staff

Think you need a professional to tell if you’re depressed? Maybe your cell phone can help! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. A new study shows that data from smart phones – such as minutes used and caller location – can be used to identify

Fear Blockers

August 2, 2018 Loh Down Staff

Afraid of spiders? Just wave your wizard wand! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying, unfortunately, unlike Harry Potter and his friends, we can’t simply magic the fear away. Or can we? Uncontrollable fear can make life difficult, and there aren’t many options for treatment.