Loh Down Staff – Page 9 – The Loh Down On Science

Mapping Baby Names

July 30, 2018 Loh Down Staff

What are Italian scientists interested in? Would you believe American baby names? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying: Ciao, bella. It’s true! Meet researchers from Sapienza University in Rome. They used our Social Security archives to analyze American baby names from 1910 to 2012.

Fantasy Islands

July 24, 2018 Loh Down Staff

What do island paradises and diapers have in common? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, with the poop on coral-reef islands! These islands build up from sediment deposited over time. But where does that sediment come from? Sometimes, from parrotfish! To be specific, parrotfish poop!

Nano Bandaid

July 23, 2018 Loh Down Staff

Cut yourself shaving? Forget the wad of toilet paper—apply Frankenstein solution! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying: It’s actually called hemostat solution, initially developed by a team of scientists at MIT. It works by bathing injured tissue in a blend of peptides, small fragments

Methane Roundup

July 18, 2018 Loh Down Staff

Scientists are fighting climate change, one burp at a time! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. The target? Methane. This gas is much more effective than others at trapping heat in the atmosphere. One source of methane is cows. Cow’s stomachs contain microorganisms that ferment

Pre-K Gossip Girls

July 16, 2018 Loh Down Staff

Psssst! Have you heard the latest gossip on…gossip? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. When was the last time you “heard it through the grapevine”? The latest Kardashian drama, whispers about your frenemy’s plastic surgery gone wrong… We all have our guilty gossiping pleasures. Don’t

Obey Your Thirst

July 6, 2018 Loh Down Staff

Obey your thirst! Your brain commands it! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Meet Yuki Oka of the California Institute of Technology. He and collaborators have a thirst for knowledge. Literally! They’ve pinpointed two groups of cells in mouse brains that control thirst. Kind of

Hot Spiced Tarantula

July 3, 2018 Loh Down Staff

Like your chili extra hot? Here’s another thrill you might enjoy—a tarantula bite! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. A study by David Julius of the University of California, San Francisco, looked at venom from a West Indian tarantula. It’s shown to activate the same

Sex and the Single Sawfish

June 28, 2018 Loh Down Staff

Don’t have a date? Or a mate? No problem! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Animals sometimes go solo. Why? Because they can reproduce without mating: virgin birth! Technically, it’s called “parthenogenesis.” Instead of DNA from mom and dad, offspring just have mom’s DNA. So

I Confess

June 25, 2018 Loh Down Staff

Cheery question: What percent of convictions are thought to be wrongful? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science saying: According to studies? Fifteen to twenty five percent! Yikes! And one of the major reasons for the high number? False confessions. But why would people admit to

Gassy Rocks

June 20, 2018 Loh Down Staff

Could the solution to global warming be a stone’s throw away? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Since the Industrial Revolution, burning fossil fuels has increased carbon dioxide emissions substantially. C-O-two traps heat in Earth’s atmosphere, contributing to the “greenhouse effect”. For years, scientists have