I’ll be there in the blink of an eye….literally? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Imagine you’re a bird, flying through the air….The wind glides off your feathers as you swerve and swoop high above. But one blink…and CRASH landing! Yet blinking keeps eyes moisturized
Continue readingTag: animals
Big Brains
Big brain…tiny list of Facebook friends? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. We, humans, are VERY smart mammals – if we do say so ourselves! Some say it’s because we have such big brains. But at what cost to society? Manuela González-Suárez at the University
Continue readingSpace Spiders
Oh what a tangled web we weave…in space?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Many spider webs found in nature are asymmetrical: their top part is smaller than the bottom. Could GRAVITY play a role in this off-center web weaving? Samuel Zschokke from the University
Continue readingDaunted Dingoes
You’ve heard of scarecrows – how about scare-DINGOES?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Australian wolves, known as DINGOES, prey on farmers’ livestock. When they’re caught having a farm fresh meal, it becomes their LAST meal. Is there a…FRIENDLIER way to fend off predators? Enter
Continue readingThat Playpus Glow
What has fur and GLOWS brighter than a Tyra Banks Smize?! (That’s a smile with your eyes.) This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Some animals really light up a room…BUT only under ultraviolet light. This is called biofluorescence. Scientists believe mammals like possums use it
Continue readingFido’s Feelings
FIIIIDDDOOO I’m home!! How about a kiss! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Seeing long lost friends and family can bring on the waterworks! But what about our furry four-legged friends? Do our dogs have a tearful reunion when they greet us at the door?
Continue readingDog Person
The dog whisperer.. or the human whisperer!? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Dogs, our best friends. They can help us herd, hunt, and sense our emotions! How are they so smart? Shany Dror and team from Eotvos Lorand University in Hungary wondered how dogs
Continue readingFriendly Felines
If you love cats, blink once! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Unless your kitty is Garfield, you don’t really know what it’s thinking. Cats can’t speak! So, how CAN we communicate with our feline friends? Tasmin Humphrey at the University of Sussex says: it’s
Continue readingRat Race
Could your next driving instructor be … Stuart Little? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Wild rats are smarter than scientists thought. One wild rat escaped and eluded seasoned field researchers for over four months! So are lab rats naturally dumber than their liberated friends?
Continue readingMonkey Business
You’re on stage, ready to perform your big solo, and…you freeze! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science Humans *gag* choke under pressure all the time. But what about other animals? Adam Smoulder and colleagues at Carnegie Mellon University wanted to know. They plopped three monkeys
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