News flash: Rock ‘n’ roll head-banging ain’t healthy! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. In 1968, at a Led Zeppelin concert, hard rockers began BANGING their heads on the stage. Violent rhythmic head movements became common among heavy metal fans. Unfortunately, so did reports of
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Ugh. You think just like mom! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. In women, ONE of your X chromosomes — from mom OR dad — is MORE active across individual cells. And this could influence how your brain AGES. How, you ask? Enter Samira Abdulai-Saiku
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Pump some iron… into your noggin?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Blood flow is vital for distributing nutrients, vitamins, and oxygen to our organs – especially our brains! Philip Ainslie at the University of Otago has a fascinating theory about that. So, sitting around slows
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Talk about life’s NUMTS and bolts! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Mitochondria – your body’s energy supplier – has a side hustle: inserting their D-N-A into your brain! Should we be afraid?! Enter the Mills team at the University of Michigan. They examined little
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Can your brain handle outer space? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Davide Marotta and team from New York wondered how gravity affects the brain. Combining different types of sticky brain cells, they made tissue-like structures called organoids. And… BLAST OFF! Organoids were sent to
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Neuroscience goes punk? I’m a teenage lobotomy! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. No one wants to leave from their brain scan looking like Joey Ramone! But that bulky headgear for electroencephalograms is a guaranteed bad hair day. How can we make E-E-G’s … cooler
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Click click! Brain selfie! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Diagnosing mental health disorders takes a VILLAGE of experts and medical tests. Despite progress, diagnoses are still taken with a BRAIN of salt. How can we do better? Enter Spencer Kinsey and team from Georgia
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Your brain is a masterpiece! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Scientists have long scratched their heads studying brains. But brain tissue is a scarce resource! Can we make more brains? Enter Yuanwei Yan and Xueyan Li from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. They developed a
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Get ready to be knocked out! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Fainting, or syncope, affects FORTY percent of people in their lifetime. It involves sudden drops in blood flow to the brain leading to loss of consciousness. But, the science behind fainting has long
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I can’t sleep! It’s insom-NOM-NOM-NOM-ia time! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Who doesn’t love saving a little snack for later? Sometimes WAY later. During the summer, reindeer eat ALL DAY to get ready for winter. Their stomachs have FOUR chambers, including one to store
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