Waving the white flag has a seductive new meaning! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying surrender — to the power of amphibian love. Meet the Bornean rock frog. These creatures live near waterfalls, and enjoy long hops on the beach. However, these romantic scenes
Continue readingTag: animal behavior
Bird Peace
Birds of a feather flock together. Or do they? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Bird fights happen, especially with nests nearby. At best, birds of different species ignore each other. But is that the only way to achieve avian world peace? Meet Allison Johnson
Continue readingCroc Meets Bach
Do crocodiles like the Crocodile Rock …or do they prefer classical? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. When you get a concussion, doctors use an M-R-I to take pictures of your brain. Remember that big hollow tube that patients lie down inside of on Grey’s
Continue readingRelephant Factors
What makes an elephant pack its trunk. . . and leave? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Elephant societies are matriarchal. Mothers and grandmothers lead the way. Sadly, older females are often targeted for their tusks. This leaves their family orphaned! So what happens when
Continue readingFrenemy Ants
Hey, ants – can’t we all just …get along? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Not all ants are after your picnic basket. Some species are humble fungus farmers. Others are parasitic freeloaders. These social creepers come over and eat the farmer ants’ crops with
Continue readingObey Your Thirst
Obey your thirst! Your brain commands it! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Meet Yuki Oka of the California Institute of Technology. He and collaborators have a thirst for knowledge. Literally! They’ve pinpointed two groups of cells in mouse brains that control thirst. Kind of
Continue readingOcean Jazz
What’s a whale’s favorite music jam? Apparently: the bluuuuueees! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Forget Coachella – there’s a BIGGER music festival happening… deep in the North Atlantic ocean! The headliners? Breeding bowhead whales! All winter long, these whales flirt by singing songs to
Continue readingTool Time
Look, ma! No hands! I mean wings! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, and on the tool-using habits of New Caledonian crows. Sure, various animals use tools, but we’re the only ones with toolboxes. So other species have to find creative ways of keeping their
Continue readingEquine IQ
Are horses just . . . overgrown dogs? Science suggests yes! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying: The two species do seem to have something unusual in common: The ability to read people’s faces! So say animal researchers at the University of Sussex. These
Continue readingUniversal Language
Don’t speak the language? Just keep smiling! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Many gestures are universal. A warm smile is innately understood all around the world. A thumbs up, however? That’s learned and doesn’t translate across cultures. But where did all of these gestures
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