Looking for Trouble

Problems — do we get what we look for? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Maybe you’ve heard THIS story: a neighborhood watch lowers crime in an area. But once the burglaries stop, the watch doesn’t relax. Instead, people start calling in jaywalkers! It’s called

Continue reading

Windy Warming

Windmills taking the wind out of your sails? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. More and more cities around the world are committing to renewable energy. Coal plants produce carbon dioxide which can lead to global warming. But other options aren’t perfect either! Meet Lee

Continue reading

Ocean Jazz

What’s a whale’s favorite music jam? Apparently: the bluuuuueees! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Forget Coachella – there’s a BIGGER music festival happening… deep in the north Atlantic ocean! The headliners? Breeding bowhead whales! All winter long, these whales flirt by singing songs to

Continue reading

Cuddle Buddies

Two lemurs cuddling

Are hugs the new chicken soup? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Think of your gut as a soup of friendly bacteria. Everybody’s recipe is custom made to work with our bodies properly. These good bacteria help digest food and fight disease. Scientists know that

Continue reading

Mind Over Robot

Scheme showing a monkey activating controller with its hand and its brain decoding the movement

  Mind over matter! And robots? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Advanced prosthetics hook up a robotic limb directly to your brain. Though still rudimentary, researchers hope to restore natural movement, and even touch, to amputees. But can brains really adapt and control this

Continue reading

Plantasia

Plants with bugs? And not the creepy crawly kind! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Plants use sunlight and carbon dioxide to make their food through a process called photosynthesis. But the process is buggy! Plants can accidentally grab oxygen INSTEAD of carbon dioxide. And

Continue reading

Singing Mouseketeers

Mousey in conversations? You’re not alone! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Some conversations just flow naturally. Others…not so much! Imagine small talk with the in-laws! Ugh! You have to tiptoe around sensitive topics, AND coordinate a hundred different mouth muscles! How does your brain

Continue reading

Animal Eavesdroppings

Are forest animals the next Bandcamp stars? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Humans have been working hard to preserve the world’s oceans, deserts and forests. But how is that working out? You COULD use satellites to track forest growth. But satellites can’t see the

Continue reading

Genome Clutter

Gaaah – this place is so cluttered! Do I NEED all this stuff? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying…maybe! Just like that overstuffed closet, your body is crammed with different proteins. Your genes contain blueprints for all of them. But some proteins have multiple,

Continue reading

Asleep or Awake?

Somebody pinch me! Am I REALLY awake? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Brain injury can make it difficult to tell if someone’s conscious or not! Patients in a coma may respond to things, but only as a reflex. How can doctors tell the difference?

Continue reading