For Your Eyes Only

Whispers, intrigue, secret love letters – oh my!   This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.  I’m not describing the latest period rom-com! I’m talking HISTORY, and the famed queen of France, Marie Antoinette. She wrote letters to a rumored lover during the French revolution. But the

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PORE-t Hole Pals

Ahhhh-CHOO! Was that your neighbor, or your sponge?!   This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.   Kitchen sponges are modeled after sea sponges. These marine animals have no brains or muscles. They just sit and eat all day! Sounds nice. But, what about cleaning off?

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Tiny Treatments

Creepy crawlies… to the rescue??   This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science saying…   LEECHES! Dark, slimy, and definitely gross. BUT, they’ve had their uses in medicine for hundreds of years. Are there any other types of worm that could help us?   Researchers from

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Calamari-velous Creatures

Who do you think would win a chess game? You or … an octopus?   This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.   Humans and octopuses both possess exceptional intelligence when compared to other animals. But how similar are we really?   Researchers from the Stazione

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Spotting Stripes

How do some tigers earn… EXTRA stripes? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Got the eye of the tiger… PRINT? Almost FORTY percent of the tigers in Similipal national preserve in India have “double” stripes. Some are more black than orange! BUT this unique pattern

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Rare Recyclables

One man’s trash is another man’s… smart phone? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Electronics keep society wired, but how does Mother Nature like them? Electronics rely on rare earth elements–think cerium, neodymium, and dysprosium. Mining them is expensive AND damages the environment. Extracting them

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Popsi-cow

What boasts a bark-like coat…AND can float?  This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying no, it’s not a kayak! It’s the Steller’s Sea Cow – named for explorer Georg Steller — which lived in the Bering Sea. That is, until the last ones were hunted

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Rowing Robots

Do ROBOTS of a feather… flock together? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Wildebeest over the serengeti, sardines in the sea – many animals move seamlessly together in herds. But, we humans have a hard time not bumping into others at the grocery store! How

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Drooling for Drama

Are our kids doing a spit take? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Would you share a soda straw with a stranger? How about your sister? Family bonding sometimes means swapping a little spit! Ashley Thomas and colleagues from Harvard University wondered – can BABIES

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Ancient Energy Boost

Hunter! Gatherer! Farmer! Who works the hardest – or smartest? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Humanity’s evolution from earlier species took a LOT of energy. Bigger brains, needier children, and longer lifespans meant we had a lot on our PLATES – literally! How did

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