Got an ‘owwie?’ Could be worse! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Healing a bruise is no fun. But what if we could dial down the pain? Meet Tregs — an immune cell and zen master. They normally tell overactive immune responses like aches and
Continue reading
What’s the big stink about Antarctica? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Our atmosphere is full of tiny chemical particles that help form clouds. These particles control our daily weather and even the planet’s overall climate. And some of them smell! Why? Matt Boyer and
Continue reading
What if you could prevent bedsores without breaking the bank? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Bedsores are tissue damage caused by lying in one position for too long. Think hospitals and nursing homes. Current solutions use motorized air pump mattresses to relieve pressure, but
Continue reading
Fine, I’ll share with you, but not everyone! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, asking, how selfish does that make me? Ask Carlos Alós-Ferrer from the University of Zurich. He and his team created selfishness games for 600 volunteers. In one game, pairs of players
Continue reading
Bad mood? Try breathing. This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. During stressful times, we take deep breaths. Why does that help? Amy Kartar, Alessandro Colsanti, and team at the University of Sussex studied this question. Thirty participants breathed deeply for thirty minutes while listening to
Continue reading
Here comes snowman season… in your cells?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Our cells are like tiny cities, running on little factories called organelles. What does this cellular architecture look like? Ask Amirrasoul Tavakoli and team at NIH, Bethesda. They used a tool that
Continue reading
Ever heard of Goldilocks and the three… black holes?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Black holes are either supermassive or quite small. Except for a medium-sized freak accident! Researchers at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory were studying waves in space time – caused
Continue reading
Do you ever think your sibling comes from a different species entirely? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Children usually look like their parents! But… what about ants? Yannick Juvé and team from the University of Montpellier played Maurie Povich for harvester ants. Ant males
Continue reading
Hey diabetics! Imagine ditching the daily needle routine! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. In Type 1 diabetes, our body’s defenses accidentally wipe out our insulin-making cells. Doctors try swapping in donated cells, but those get smoked too! S-O-S! Save Our Cells! Enter Per-Ola Carlsson’s
Continue reading
Your tummy knows what it likes. What about your teeth? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. What’s on your plate might shape your smile! Ghazal Aarabi and team at University of Hamburg-Eppendorf studied this. Over six thousand participants logged their eating habits and received dental
Continue reading