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.

Continue reading

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

Continue reading

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

Continue reading

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

Continue reading

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

Continue reading

(Un)treatable Disease

Up close photo of cute cat.

It’s a medical miracle — for cats!!  This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. We would love to have our furry friends with us forever! However, a DEMON called Feline Infectious Peritonitis, or F.I.P, may rob cats of all nine of their lives.  F.I.P is a

Continue reading

Shrimply More

Cuttlefish

One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish… This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Have some raisins? Eww, no. Avocado, cheese, or nummy tuna melt? Darnit! Are cuttlefish as picky as toddlers when choosing a snack? Tzu-Hsin Kuo and Chuan-Chin Chiao from National Tsing Hua

Continue reading

Bee Prepared

Bee on a flower

Hornets BEE-ware! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Hornets! They’re big. They’re mean. And they fear NOTHING!….Except…. Beekeepers in Vietnam noticed Asian honey bees collecting poop from other animals to smear on their hives. Talk about an unusual design choice! An international team of scientists

Continue reading

Eel Team Six

Eel looking at the camera

Teamwork makes the dream work! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. What’s your favorite team sport? Whatever it is, team sports involve not just great players, but great teamwork. Fish, on the other hand, are not known for their teamwork. No one’s heard of a

Continue reading

Egg-stra Large Eggs

Dinosaur seating on the top of its eggs

Baby dinosaur or…Jurassic omelette? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Most birds incubate their eggs by sitting on them.  But how did big, heavy dinosaurs warm their eggs without smashing them? This question captured the attention of Kohei Tanaka. He studies Oviraptorosaur fossils. Parent Oviraptorosaurs

Continue reading