Vikings! Grab your helmets! And your, MAGIC CRYSTALS? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Centuries ago, Vikings ruled the North Atlantic without compasses. Instead of following north, legends say they chased the sun using CRYSTALS, known as sunstones! These chunks of pure calcite split light
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Hey, ants – can’t we all just …get along? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Not all ants are after your picnic basket. Some species are humble fungus farmers. Others are parasitic freeloaders. These social creepers come over and eat the farmer ants’ crops with
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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
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Feeling—literally—SLUGGISH? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Brains are like computer programs. Information in, decision out. For example, if hungry, eat whatever’s around. REALLY hungry? How deadly ARE those month old leftovers? But this analogy is a gross simplification, RIGHT? Meet Rhanor Gillette from the
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Don’t speak the language? Just keep smiling! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Many gestures are universal. A warm smile is innately understood all around the world. A thumbs up, however? That’s learned and doesn’t translate across cultures. But where did all of these gestures
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The humanities! Not so HUMAN? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Long ago, homo sapiens weren’t the only people on the block. Before modern humans arrived from Africa, Europe was home to Neanderthals. We usually think of this sister species as brutish and uncultured. And
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Microchips as tasty as…potato chips? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. You may have heard of graphene. It’s pure carbon arranged in a one atom thick honeycomb pattern. In this form, carbon becomes stronger than steel, and makes better wires than copper. While potentially useful
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Revenge is sweet. Science says so! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. We love a happy ending! The hero riding off into the sunset, while the villain reaps what he sowed. We pay to see this movie again and again. Is enjoying it part of
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Is seeing REALLY believing? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Our world is full of things that demand our attention. Signs, lights, people! It should be overwhelming. But our brains are GOOD at prioritizing. How do they decide what’s most important? Meet Jacqueline Snow and
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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
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