Plants versus bacteria. Who will win? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Bacteria are sneaky. Sure plants can use enzymes – like BGAL1 – to uncover them. But some bacteria can block those enzymes and stay hidden using a mystery molecule. Scientists knew that this
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Are MICROplastics making BIG impacts? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Microplastics are tiny plastic particles that have infiltrated our ecosystem from waste. And you know what’s even worse? They’re teaming up with bacteria! How? Enter Neila Gross and team at Boston University. They exposed
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Can bacteria make us smarter? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Our gut contains “good” bacteria called microbiota! They help break down our lunch into essential nutrients. The more bacteria in our microbiota, the healthier we are! But wait, there’s more! Premysl Bercik and team at
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Who’s that rowdy DJ… in your lungs?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Ever had a party crasher? Meet T.mu, a gut bacteria turning your lungs into an unexpected rave. Kyle Burrows from the University of Toronto uncovered T.mu’s surprising role. It invites immune cells
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Pee-yew! Is that the smell of…. greenhouse… GAS?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Fertilizer’s stink comes from nitrogen. When plants can’t get enough of this nutrient from the air, we help them. But Tyler Coale and team from the University of California, Santa Cruz
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Got an itch you can’t scratch? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. We all get itchy, but if you’ve got a skin condition, that’s the worst. The bacteria S. aureus is especially irritating. It produces an enzyme called V8 which sparks the pain. Is there
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Who wants to. . . SCRUB SOME DIRTY TOILETS!?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Thank heavens for Nusret Celik from Erciyes University in Turkey and team. They created a clear, silicone-based coating that makes toilets slippery! To test it, they slicked it onto half
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POP goes the virus! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Just think about all the germs we touch everyday. Eek! Who knows how many contaminated surfaces we bump into. It’s impossible to keep them clean. Or is it? What if we could kill viruses and
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Remember… BACTERIA never forget! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Certain bacteria can move together in coordinated groups, or swarms. Sometimes, if they swarm once, they’re faster at swarming the next time. As if they REMEMBER! But, HOW do they remember…without a brain? Souvik Bhattacharyyaswa
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The future of medicine is TINY! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Modern medicines are powerful, but getting them where they’re needed most can be a pain. What if you had a needle small enough to inject into individual cells? Enter Joseph Kreitz and team
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