Bin Birds

Who’s taking on racoons for the title of ULTIMATE DUMPSTER DIVER??!!  This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying – SURPRISE! It’s the Sulphur-crested cockatoo! Before twenty-eighteen, these pranksters were reported opening garbage cans in three suburbs around Sydney, Australia. They used their beaks and feet

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Smart Swimmers

Are smarter people more so-fish-ticated? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Fish may be colorful, but they aren’t very bright! Can they smarten up? Giulia Rossi and Patricia Wright from the University of Guelph in Canada think so! They study the mangrove killifish, a fish

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Superhearing!

Say what, Batman?  This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Are those bats talking about ME? Bats can both squeak and hear at frequencies so high, you’d need SUPER-hearing to detect it! Or at least – BAT-hearing? Enter Ville Pulkki and colleagues at Aalto University in

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Deep Divers

SPLASH! Take the plunge — and meet the world’s best divers! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Who are the smallest mammal scuba-divers in the world? WATER SHREWS! They live on shore, waiting to pounce on tasty insects underwater. While hunting, they can hold their

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Unbelievable Ursids

Does a bear…CLOT in the woods? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Prolonged inactivity–like LONG flights–can increase the risk of harmful blood clots in humans. Interestingly, bears that hibernate for MONTHS, don’t share this same risk. Why? Enter Manuela Thienel from the University Hospital of

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Toxic Toolbox

Image of rattlesnake.

As Woody says – “There’s a snake in my boot!”  This is Sandra sing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Imagine you’re hiking and “sssss” – a rattlesnake! Eek! If you do get bit, the local doc MIGHT have an antidote, but will it work? Even closely-related species can

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Tongue Tech

Can cats help us create the PURRR-fect hairbrush? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Our feline friends are some of nature’s most fastidious groomers. Tool of choice? Their tongues! What makes them such good cleaning tools? Alexis Noel and David Hu from Georgia Institute of

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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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Valley Girl Whales

  Valley girls and whales unite! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Certain whales use echolocation clicks to catch prey. Despite being an important skill, scientists weren’t really sure how they made the sound. What’s the source of the clicking?   Peter Madsen from Aarhus University

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