January 10th: Happy Houseplant Appreciation Day! This is Sandra with the Loh Down on Science. You’ve heard: “Don’t water your plants at noon, because they’ll burn!” Botanists from Hungary’s Eotvos University wondered if sun rays and water droplets could actually fry plants. They combined computer models with experimental tests on
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You’ve heard of e-waste, what about Lululemon waste? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Fast fashion generates so much clothing waste: over ninety million tons annually! Sadly, less than one percent of our old clothes currently get recycled. How can we do better? Enter chemical
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Lights, camera… neural action! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science saying… What is your brain actually doing while you watch a movie? Reza Rajimehr at MIT observed brain activity in two hundred people watching film clips. Why? To understand how our brains process information from
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Is the cure for drug overdoses under your skin? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Opioid abuse is a huge national problem. When things take a turn for the worst – we’re talking overdoses – quick help can make all the difference. Joanna Ciatti and
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Watching a toxic relationship go up in smoke… might be the best medicine. This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. When facing a cancer diagnosis, you know who isn’t in your corner? Cigarettes. “The damage is already done,” you say, smoker? Well, what if it’s not
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Not many holidays in January, but—ah—happy Mel Gibson’s birthday! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Whatever you think of the hot-headed actor, all can agree: Braveheart was a great movie. That screaming blue warpaint was awesome, and it can also… cure cancer? In ancient Britain,
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Gotta have my drugs, man! But short on cheddar! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Cost is one of the biggest obstacles to getting the medicine we need. How can we make meds cheaper? Enter Tianwei Dai and team from the University of Liverpool. They
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Happy 2025! Oof da— Have you heard about Norway’s Doomsday Vault? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Never mind its grim nickname, Norway’s Crop Trust encompasses a storage vault—a kind of Noah’s Ark— for seeds. The purpose: to ensure crop survival and diversity if there’s
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Happy New Year! How about a big fat mug of champagne? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Gerard Liger–Belair from France’s University of Reims wondered: Do bubblier champagnes taste better? With German colleagues, he used mass spectroscopy to analyze bubbles. Bubbles have what Liger-Belair calls an
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Once upon a time, each holiday photo was like Halloween! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Oh, those awkward family photos from the 1960s, ‘70s, ‘80s. Smiling families in colorful holiday sweaters with red demon eyes like the Balrog from Lord of the Rings. The
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