ANT-i Aging

Image of old lady and young woman holding hands.

What does a worker ant have to do to get the royal treatment? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Like bees, ants live in social colonies. Close quarters means infections and parasites can wipe out the colony fast. You’d think a tapeworm infestation spells doom

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Forest Farts

Image of dying wetland forest. NC Wetlands via Wikicommons under (CC BY 2.0

Peee-yooh! Are you blaming the dog – again? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. When humans break wind they release greenhouse gases, which are bad for the climate. However, your “whodunnit?” might not compare to a dying wetland forest. As a forest dies, greenhouse gases

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T-rex Chomps

Photo of T-rex toy

Chomp, chomp! How hard can a teen T-Rex bite? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. The adult Tyrannosaurus-rex in Jurassic Park easily bit through metal and rubber. CRUNCH — And bye-bye Jeep! But what about a teenage T-rex?  Enter Joseph Peterson from the University of

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Less is More

Family cooking

What’s the best recipe – add or subtract? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Imagine preparing your aunt’s salsa recipe. A taste, and HMMMM … add extra salt? Or does it need less chili?  How do humans approach such life’s important life challenges? Gabrielle Adams

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Elephant GPS

Images of elephants walking

An elephant never forgets … its GPS? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. When African elephants get wanderlust, they pack their trunks and hit the road! They follow trails created by generations of elephants moving between water and food across the Savannah. How come they

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Sweet Sweat

Man sweating and drinking yellow-colored fluid.

Need a boost to get through your workout? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying – just one more mile! It can be hard to drag ourselves to the gym! But a sweet trick may help. Studies have shown that rinsing your mouth with a

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Shroomy Magic

picture of mushrooms

What makes magic mushrooms so…magic? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying – GROOVY, man! The walls are breathing, and this flower picture is singing to me! What causes those hallucinations? A chemical in the mushrooms called psilocybin! Enter Frederick Barrett at Johns Hopkins University

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Doggy Bags

Dog underneath table

Why do dogs WOLF down our leftovers? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Humans eat meat. Dogs’ ancestors – wolves — eat meat. So how did these competitors get friendly and… meet? Maria Lahtinen and colleagues at the Finnish Food Authority think the answer’s close

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Neck Envy

Photo of giraffe neck with open sky background.

You wanna talk about HIGH blood pressure!  This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying ask a giraffe! Giraffes have loooong necks. So pushing blood ALL the way up to their brains requires VERY high blood pressure! But in humans, high blood pressure causes heart damage.

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Garden Party

Image of T-rex with skeleton showing.

Bye bye dinosaurs, hello . . . flowers? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. The asteroid that killed the dinosaurs ALWAYS gets a bad rap. But what if it led to — a landscape makeover? With international colleagues, Mónica Carvalho and Carlos Jaramillo from the

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