Feeling bloated after Thanksgiving? Good news: a boat that runs on human fat! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. A favorite story from our 20-year archive is that of Earthrace—a high-tech 2007 wave-piercing trimaran powered by biodiesel. Biodiesel is an eco-friendly, zero carbon footprint fuel
Continue reading
Happy Thanksgiving, America! Meat gravy, vegan tofurky, arguing over politics?!? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Meet clinical psychologist Drew Westen and colleagues at Emory University. They used functional neuroimaging—a type of MRI scan—on die-hard Democrats and Republicans. They watched different brain areas become active,
Continue reading
Flying on America’s busiest travel day? May The Force be with you! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Jason Steffens of Fermilab wondered: What’s the fastest way to board a plane? He found: LEAST efficient, boarding seats starting front row to back. SECOND worst? That
Continue reading
In your face! Times eight! Ouch! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science saying… Question: Who’s crueler than a kid playing dodgeball? Answer: an octopus!! Peter Godfrey-Smith and the University of Sydney watched the violence from the sidelines. They analyzed twenty hours of octopus footage! These
Continue reading
Saving energy? We’re talkin’ Little Shop of Horrors! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Consider the carnivorous pitcher plant. It’s a trash bag shaped plant that eats bugs to overcome nutrient deficient soil. That gave Anne-Kristin Lenz and the University of Bristol an idea for
Continue reading
Can we afford this BUZZ TOWN?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Are bee habitats getting GENTRIFIED? Today’s urban gardens are full of harvest crops and ornamental flowers. Better place for bees than an empty lot with unkempt weeds, right? RIGHT? Enter Frances Sivakoff and
Continue reading
Just WALK it off…but WHERE? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Studies have shown higher rates of stress in the concrete jungle. Can a change of scenery help us out? Enter Sonja Sudimac and Germany’s Max Planck Institute for Human Development. They randomly assigned sixty-three
Continue reading
I’m not drinking alone! I’ve got… my plant friends! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Yes, plants have Thirsty Thursday too, especially in droughts. So, scientists want to stabilize crop growth during water restriction. Could the answer be… alcohol? Raise your glass to Khurram Bashir
Continue reading
Do spiders dream of… eight-legged sheep?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science… saying… Wait! Spiders… dream? Well, to do that, they’d have to experience REM sleep. That’s a deep sleep state characterized by rapid eye movements. That’s when most of our HUMAN dreams occur! Now,
Continue reading
Ahoy! Thar’s gold in that junk drawer! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science… saying… At least keys, old cell phones, those weird little IKEA joints to—argh!—assemble your Bilsbo’s. All are metal, of increasing demand today, and expensive to mine. Enterprising? You could be like Vancouver’s
Continue reading