Sweaty Fingers

Fingerprint in a glass

Dropped your phone again? Don’t sweat it! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Our fingerprints help us grip slippery smooth surfaces like phones or drinking glasses! But how? Seoung-Mo Yum at Seoul National University and colleagues started scanning fingerprints. Four participants pressed their finger pads

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Know by Heart

Woman looking at other woman with wondering face

Do I know you? My heart says yes! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Memories…light the corners of our minds! But what about our hearts? Enter Katia Mattarozzi and colleagues from University of Bologna in Italy. They wondered – is there a connection between heart

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A Snooze Boost

Person sleeping

Exams…ugh! I’m drinking Red Bull and pulling all-nighters but I can’t remember ANYTHING! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. After a good night’s sleep, our memory is tip-top compared to when we’re more bleary-eyed. But how does a snooze help us remember? Jing Zhang and

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Suction Saves the Day

Suction tool taking a tissue sheet and placing it on a hand

Got a delicate job to do? Call an octopus! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. You wouldn’t use barbecue tongs to pick up your contact lenses! Now think of surgeons. In performing transplants, they have to transport delicate skin tissue. Sensitive, accurate tools are needed

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Healing Tea

Tea cup

Could a cup of tea a day keep the doctor away? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Tea-time – it’s not just an excuse for cookies! Tea can give you energy, help you sleep, even soothe your stomach! But can it do even more? José

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Daunted Dingoes

Fred-a-scare moving

You’ve heard of scarecrows – how about scare-DINGOES?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Australian wolves, known as DINGOES, prey on farmers’ livestock. When they’re caught having a farm-fresh meal, it becomes their LAST meal. Is there a…FRIENDLIER way to fend off predators? Enter Bradley

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Time Flies

Clock with minutes passing by fast

Just one more game of Mahjong Solitaire. . . What — it’s been six hours?!? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Does time REALLY fly when you’re having fun? Or does it just SEEM that way? Masamichi Hayashi and Richard Ivry from UC Berkeley have

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That Platypus Glow

Fluorescent platypus seen under UV light

What has fur and GLOWS brighter than a Tyra Banks Smize?! (That’s a smile with your eyes.) This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Some animals really light up a room…BUT only under ultraviolet light. This is called biofluorescence. Scientists believe mammals like possums use it

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Blockheads

Disordered building blocks of different colors

Are the building blocks for math skills… literal building blocks? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Luis builds a tower. Kim builds a town. Rosie crashes in, and it all falls down! Building blocks are great for preschoolers playing pretend, but do they REALLY teach

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Elusive Huntresses

Caveman getting out of cave seeing NYC

Men do the hunting. Women do the cooking — sez who? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Imagine. You’re a hunter-gatherer in the early Americas nine thousand years ago. You take your gender role pretty seriously. In most societies, the message is clear: girls don’t

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