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
Continue readingTag: animals
Talkin’ Batty
HELP! Turn on the bat-signal! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Like birds, bats have wings. But they’re actually mammals like humans! Like us, they’re social creatures and have to learn to talk to one another. How? Ahana Fernandez, from Leibniz Institute for Evolution and
Continue readingBatty GPS
Can bats see into the future? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. SWOOP! A black blob dashes by – BATS! Their flight path seems so random – how do these speedy creatures keep track of where they are and where they’re going? Nicholas Dotson and
Continue readingPika Perseverance
Pikachu? More like pika-EWWW! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. In the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau of Southeast Asia lives the plateau pika – a little rodent the length of a butter knife. BUT plateau life is no small feat! Temperatures can reach negative twenty degrees fahrenheit,
Continue readingOtter See, Otter Do
Are sea otters… copycats? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science… saying… Actually, they’re more like badgers, but regardless, they’re adorable AND endangered. How can we make sure rescued otters can take care of themselves in the wild? Enter Alexander Saliveros and colleagues from the University
Continue readingTreats and Traits
Can you PAW-sitively predict a dog’s personality by its breed? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Friendly golden retrievers. Mischievous huskies. Are these personality differences part of nature…or nurture? Researchers at the University of Massachusetts led by Kathleen Morrill wanted to know. They collected thousands
Continue readingSpotting Stripes
How do some tigers earn… EXTRA stripes? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Got the eye of the tiger… PRINT? Almost FORTY percent of the tigers in Similipal national preserve in India have “double” stripes. Some are more black than orange! BUT this unique pattern
Continue readingPopsi-cow
What boasts a bark-like coat…AND can float? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying no, it’s not a kayak! It’s the Steller’s Sea Cow – named for explorer Georg Steller — which lived in the Bering Sea. That is, until the last ones were hunted
Continue readingRowing Robots
Do ROBOTS of a feather… flock together? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Wildebeest over the serengeti, sardines in the sea – many animals move seamlessly together in herds. But, we humans have a hard time not bumping into others at the grocery store! How
Continue readingHippos in a Pod
It would be HIPPO-critical to say I get along with EVERYONE! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Hippos communicate with a “wheeze-honk” sound. Think: New York cab drivers, rush hour traffic jam! But what are they REALLY telling each other? Enter Julie Thévenet from the
Continue reading