Jalopy Brains

Two things happen when you get old: one… your memory goes, two… can’t remember This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Imagine your aging brain as a vintage sports car: engine’s fine, but not very fast. Why? The protein HDAC3 is an emergency brake pruning memory

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BEE-lieve It

Can you teach a bee to play soccer? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Bees are known to be well organized. They’re expert team players! But can they solve problems on the fly?  Enter Akshaye Bhambore and team at the University of Oulu. They built

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Sweaty Wearables

I know it’s hot, but don’t wipe your sweat away! It’s valuable information! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Wearable sensors, like smartwatches and skin patches, already track heart rate, sleep, and mood. They can also measure stress and glucose! But most are single-use. And

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Water Magic Jackets

Jackets keep you warm. And stylish! Now they can quench your thirst? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Clean water is essential. Yet two-thirds of the world experiences water scarcity. Enter Chuxin Lei and team at UT Austin. They developed a porous fiber that pulls

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Thymus Time

It’s thymus time, baby!  This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. The thymus is an organ that produces immune cells during childhood. But it is largely unimportant in adulthood. Or so we thought! Enter Simon Bernatz and team from Mass General Brigham.  They wanted to see

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No Speech, No Problem

Imagine speaking without making a sound? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Communication is crucial in noisy military and industrial settings. Existing silent-speech devices often require implants, making them impractical. Enter Sunguk Hong and colleagues at Pohang University of Science and Technology in South Korea. 

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The Geometry Genius Plant

Are houseplants geometry whizzes?  This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. A beehive. A city map. Cell phone towers. These all share a geometry called a Voronoi diagram. This is where boundaries sit exactly halfway between points. Know where else it shows up? The Chinese Money

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Catch-up Sleep

Maybe…it is time to …. This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Doctors recommend at least seven hours of sleep a night. What if you get less?  Xiaoyu Li and team from Tsinghua University tracked eighty-five thousand adults for a week. They grouped the participants based

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Smart Patch

Doctor, doctor! What should I do about this weird mark on my shoulder? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Ulcers are open sores that won’t heal. For diabetes patients, keeping an eye on ulcers is key to preventing any further health complications. Now ulcer patients

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