Scuba Lizards

Image from article showing anole species forming an air bubbles underwater to “rebreathe”

So! How long can YOU hold your breath under water? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. We humans need an oxygen tank to go scuba diving. What would a lizard use?  Christopher Boccia at University of Toronto, Canada, and an international team study small anole

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Fin-tastic Navigation

Image of the bonnethead shark (Sphyrna tiburo)

Sky of blue, a sea of green . . . but which way’s home?  This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. I can’t even find the grocery store without my GPS! But some sharks migrate loooong distances. How do they plan their route without underwater Google

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Best Prime-Mates

Photo by Suprem Vanam on Unsplash

When the going gets tough, the tough. . . lean on our friends?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying it’s COOL to be a monkey – they’ve got it made in the shade! Literally. But in 2017, Hurricane Maria swept through Puerto Rico destroying

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Equid-ed

horse in desert

Animals don’t HORSE AROUND when it comes to water! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Imagine you’re lost in the desert — you’re parched. But the desert’s teeming with animals! How are they surviving? Eric Lundgren from the University of Technology in Sydney dug up

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Elephant GPS

Images of elephants walking

An elephant never forgets … its GPS? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. When African elephants get wanderlust, they pack their trunks and hit the road! They follow trails created by generations of elephants moving between water and food across the Savannah. How come they

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Doggy Bags

Dog underneath table

Why do dogs WOLF down our leftovers? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Humans eat meat. Dogs’ ancestors – wolves — eat meat. So how did these competitors get friendly and… meet? Maria Lahtinen and colleagues at the Finnish Food Authority think the answer’s close

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Neck Envy

Photo of giraffe neck with open sky background.

You wanna talk about HIGH blood pressure!  This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying ask a giraffe! Giraffes have loooong necks. So pushing blood ALL the way up to their brains requires VERY high blood pressure! But in humans, high blood pressure causes heart damage.

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Irr-elephant

Photo of group of elephants

Preventing cancer? Elephants may be up to the TUSK. This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Every cell has a chance to develop cancer. So within a species, larger animals, who have more cells, have higher cancer risk. Larger humans have higher risk of cancer, and

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Ocean 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

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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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