Introducing the next heavyweight material champion…SILK! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Plastic…it’s cheap, flexible, durable, colorful…. AND, a nightmare to recycle. Can something else be the new “plastics”? Enter Zongpu Xu from Zhejiang University, and team. They set out to make a SUPER sustainable
Continue readingAuthor: Salma El-Azab
Hippos in a Pod
It would be HIPPO-critical to say I get along with EVERYONE! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Hippos communicate with a “wheeze-honk” sound. Think: New York cab drivers, rush hour traffic jam! But what are they REALLY telling each other? Enter Julie Thévenet from the
Continue readingIcefish Extravaganza
Grab your south-poles, we’re going ice fishing! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. The Antarctic Ocean is home to a marine species called Jonah’s icefish. They’re brackish-green in color, and can grow to nearly two feet in length! And they’ve suddenly become VERY popular! Autun
Continue readingPesky Pollen
Help! I’ve POLLEN and I can’t get up! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Welcome, spring — and POLLEN!! I don’t know about you, but it’s got ME sniffling and wheezing. I wonder why pollen holds so much power over me? Enter Ruxandra Cojocaru from
Continue readingFingerprint Frenzy
WHO stole the cookies from the cookie jar? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying… time to dust for prints! Arches, loops, whorls — your fingerprints are just one swirly piece of the puzzle that is YOU! But what determines how your fingerprints look? Jinxi
Continue readingFungal Construction
Doesn’t Bob the Builder seem like a fun-gi? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Wood, steel, concrete – SO last season! What’s the next ‘it’ construction material? Ross McBee from Columbia University and his teams bet on LIVING BRICKS! They started with brick-shaped molds full
Continue readingConfuzzled Cats
Wanna hear something PAW-esome? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. You just want some peace after a long day at work. But that darn cat! It won’t leave you alone, no matter where you hide! What sort of sixth sense are they using to pin
Continue readingHandy Ants
Ants in your plants? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Fixing up your fixer-upper? As every homeowner knows – the work NEVER ends! Azteca ants make their homes in Cecropia trees. The trees offer them food and shelter. But what happens when they need a
Continue readingRockin’ Rockfish
Life will be AWESOME in – oh, two hundred years…?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying… Flying cars, teleportation machines, negative-calorie desserts … too bad I won’t be around to see it! But if I were a rockfish? No problem! Some live for twenty
Continue readingCarpenter’s Secret
It’s “Tool Time!” This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. All those hours watching “Home Improvement” reruns paid off — you’ve finally built your dream bookshelf! But was all that sawing, hammering, and nail-biting worth it? If only you could just bend wood to your will!
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