The Power of Language

Words can change your mind… literally! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Language is a huge part of human development. But can the language we speak physically affect our brains?  Xuehu Wei and team at the Planck Institute in Germany wondered. They compared brain scans

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Spun Out

Ring around the rosyyy… This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Remember spinning around the playground as a kid til you felt like hurling–or maybe did!?? It turns out many other primates like to spin too! What makes this silly, dizzying pastime so much fun? Adriano

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Doxing in Darkness

Hello darkness, my old friend.  This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Sleep helps us learn, focus, and recover. Light is nature’s alarm clock. And a good one at that! Even a tiny bit can keep us from catching our Z’s. Would sleeping in total darkness

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Neighborly Squirrels

Photo of red squirrel in tree.

Won’t you be my neighbor… said the SQUIRREL?!  This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Harsh winters, hungry predators… Life is tough for red squirrels in the Yukon! They’re an extremely territorial bunch — each squirrel fends for itself and defends its turf. But could these

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The Hair Necessities

Female with gorgeous hair and flowers in her hair.

Look for the bare necessities! Or maybe… HAIR necessities! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Hair follicle stem cells located in our scalps keep our locks luscious. Scientists can grow these hair-makers from OTHER types of stem cells. However, the lab-grown variety doesn’t always work

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Baby Mathletes

Goo goo … a-HA! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. When it comes to math skills, are we Born This Way? Elisabeth Spelke and Fei Xu from the Northeastern University of Boston went to the source: Babies! They seated sixteen six-month-olds in a comfy chair.

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Cosmic Concrete

Going to Mars! First just needa hit 7/11. This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Scientists are starting to think about how humans could live on other planets. We’ll need houses, but what can we build them with? There are no hardware stores there… . We’ll

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Clouded Checkmate

Is a good chess move all in the … lungs?!? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Air pollution is hard on our bodies, particularly our lungs and heart. But can indoor air quality also CLOUD our thinking? Steffen Künn and an international team of researchers

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Slimey Memories

Slime mold.

Is slime for brains so bad? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science Organisms with brains can remember important things. Where to get food, how to build shelter, where I left my car keys . . . But what about organisms WITHOUT brains?  Enter Mirna Kramar

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Fighting Fire with Fire

Photo of wildfires.

Does like cure like when it comes to… WILDFIRES?  This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Fire season is coming! One way to help avoid the destruction? Prescribed burns! This technique has been used to control wildfires for years. But it can cause the soil to

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