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 readingTag: DNA
Grandma’s Hands
Do grandmas really have a “magic touch” for baking? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Aspen Reese from Harvard wanted to know: can grandma’s actual hands really make a difference? She and her team sent flour to eighteen bakers across North America and Europe. The
Continue readingAncient DNA
Fans of Jurassic Park, listen up! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. The tuatara is an ancient reptile with close ties to dinosaurs. It looks like a lizard, but has TEETH — and triple-digit birthdays! What makes this critter so special? Neil Gemmell and an
Continue readingDNA Autocorrect
Autocorrect is great for our phones. But what about our DNA? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. DNA is made of building blocks called bases. These bases spell out the blueprints for our cells! Sometimes, mistakes are made, and the wrong base gets swapped
Continue readingPost-Ghost
BOO! Any ghosts in YOUR family tree? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Ah, the family tree! Aunts and uncles, grandparents, and great-grandparents…but what about the gaps in the tree? Wouldn’t you like to know a little more about your family from thousands of
Continue readingGum Genealogy
What can chewing gum reveal about YOU? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Yuck, nothing worse than finding old gum on your shoe! Unless you’re an archaeologist… Hannes Schroeder at the University of Copenhagen thinks GUM is as good as gold! His team discovered chewed
Continue readingMind-Body Balance
Ommmmm….can mindfulness help us live longer? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Yoga, meditation and Tai-Chi are proven ways to relieve anxiety and stress. But could these activities also help prevent disease? Ivana Buric at Coventry University studied how our bodies react to mindfulness practices.
Continue readingDanger Down Under
Ten foot venomous tentacles lurking in the ocean? It’s the box jellyfish! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Box jellyfish stings could easily be something from a horror movie. Especially terrifying? The monstrous C. fleckeri! Its venom causes pain, tissue damage, and even death! Swimmers,
Continue readingHealth and Wealth
What’s more significant – your zip code or your GENE codes? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Our genetic material is inherited from our parents. Their D-N-A influences everything we are, from our personalities to our looks. But can our environment ALTER this biological instruction
Continue readingAging Bat-ifully
Hey, influencers – have you heard about BEAUTY TIPS from BATS? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. For most mammals, the smaller they are, the shorter their lifespan. But not bats! If humans played by bat rules, we’d live past a hundred and fifty! What
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