Episodes – Page 180 – The Loh Down On Science

Bile Away the Pounds

January 31, 2019 Dhruba Banerjee

Is the next weight loss supplement BILE? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying, what is bile, anyway? Doctors think of bile – a greenish fluid in your stomach — as the body’s detergent. It helps digest fat. Yay, that’s a good thing! What ELSE

Hey, That’s My Spot!

January 30, 2019 Loh Down Staff

Parking structures! Hivelike, crowded, suffocating. . . literally? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. If you feel suffocated in over-crowded parking structures, there could be a reason. We know that cars contribute to air pollution. And parking garages have lots of cars. So, it’s no

Revenge on the Brain

January 29, 2019 Victoria Lim

An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind. Can science help? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Your brain has specialized regions to handle various tasks. For example, your hippocampus is involved in memory processing. But how does the brain handle situations of

A Moth’s Tale

January 28, 2019 Priyam Patel

Na na na na na na na na… Mothman? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Evolution is a war. An arms race that’s lasted millions of years. Like the war between moths…and BATS! Bats use echolocation — high-pitched sounds — to see and hunt, like

Rock Fans

January 25, 2019 Loh Down Staff

First there were crop circles, now there are… rock circles? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. In California’s Death Valley, a remote dry lakebed holds a secret! Rocks scattered across its parched surface have mysterious trails etched behind them. It seems the rocks move! But

Caffeine Fix

January 24, 2019 Rachel Rosenzweig

Hey! Before you reload that Starbucks card–is there such a thing as TOO MUCH coffee? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Coffee is often, and controversially, associated with good health. But some people have trouble metabolizing caffeine. Could a coffee habit spell danger for them?

Spider Bright

January 23, 2019 Loh Down Staff

The latest designer colors could be coming to you soon courtesy of… tarantula hair? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Researchers at the University of Akron are interested in spider hair. Specifically, the hairs of the Metallic Blue Ornamental tarantula. This giant spider gets its

It’s Lit

January 22, 2019 Dhruba Banerjee

Could the light at the end of the tunnel… cure blindness? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Your eyes and brain communicate in perfect harmony to let you see. But for kids with amblyopia, or “lazy eye syndrome,” this tango gets messed up. The brain

Bumble-Drones

January 21, 2019 Kellen Kartub

Flight of the bumblebee? More like flight of the bumble…drone! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Engineers are always looking to make things lighter, faster, and stronger. Origami-inspired structures are lightweight and cost-effective. That’s perfect for improving robot technology such as drones. However, they have

NUT-ricious Chocolate

January 18, 2019 Loh Down Staff

Healthy milk chocolate. Sound nuts? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Unlike its more sophisticated cousin dark chocolate, milk chocolate isn’t known for its health benefits. But what if we could change that? Scientists at the USDA and North Carolina State University may have found