Hairy Memory

Girl with black curly hair

Getting in shape? So is… wool?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Curly or straight? Either way, your hair has a perfect memory. It REMEMBERS how it hung before you spent hours styling it. Can that super-power be put to use? Luca Cera from Harvard

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Bumblebeer

Man pouring beer in a glass

Bees can sting, but can they make you…tipsy? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Brewing beer is an age-old tradition, and it’s all thanks to YEAST. There are nearly two thousand kinds of yeast on Earth. But only two types are used to brew beer:

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Forest is Calling

Forest with sun light coming from the side

Ring ring! It’s a call from… the forest? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. “If a tree falls in the forest, and nobody’s around, does it make a sound?” Let’s find out! The forest called to Sarab Sethi [SAH-rahb SEH-thih] and colleagues from Imperial College

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Let Them Eat Air

Cell converting some molecules into others

Can we make food out of thin air? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Soil is full of microbes. These tiny organisms eat and break down other organisms. They also recycle nutrients. But in desolate places on earth, or even in space, what is there

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DNA Autocorrect

Text message with an autocorrected word

  Autocorrect is great for our phones. But what about our DNA? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. DNA is made of building blocks called bases. These bases spell out the blueprints for our cells! Sometimes, mistakes are made, and the wrong base gets swapped

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Fish’n’Robots

Two fish swimming in tank

  Beam me up… Nemo!?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Would Dory and Nemo really be friends? What if they’re swimming in different oceans? Studying social interactions among animals is hard, but doing it long-distance seems impossible! Maurizio Porfiri and colleagues at New York

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Fizzy and Fat

Two glasses of iced bubbly beverage

Your beverage of choice. Fizzy or flat? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. We know that sugary sodas can pack on pounds. But we love our bubbly bevs! So we’re cutting back on soda, drinking more sparkling water, and staying hydrated! That’s a healthy lifestyle

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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

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Freezing Hot

Iced water stalactites

Sick of waiting for your ice cubes to freeze? Maybe the water is too cold! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Did you know that hot water FREEZES much faster than cold water? This paradox was first observed by Aristotle centuries ago. It became known

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