Taste Test

Coffee – it’s an acquired taste! Or is it? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Some of us LOVE the bitter taste of coffee – others prefer sweet colas! Why is that? Marilyn Cornelis of Northwestern University wondered if the answer is in our D-N-A.

Continue reading

Super-Sized DNA

How do YOU spell “alien D-N-A?” This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. You probably know about DNA. It’s the genetic recipe book for all of life – at least, here on Earth! And it uses just four simple ingredients: the bases guanine, cytosine, adenine and

Continue reading

Sweet Deal

Getting a twenty-one isn’t just a win at blackjack! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. In the endless pursuit of a healthy lifestyle, research is turning to our genetics. Specifically, the work of Tim Frayling and researchers at the University of Exeter. They’re leading an

Continue reading

Viral Addiction

Has addiction gone VIRAL? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Retroviruses like HIV make us sick by inserting their genes into our cells. Usually, these genes cause cells to make new copies of the retrovirus. But occasionally, the genes mutate and can’t make new viruses.

Continue reading

The Secret Life of Cells

Cells can have nuclei, mitochondria and… family secrets? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. We each have a family tree of ancestors. Turns out, our cells also have a family tree! Doctors can use them to isolate diseased cells. But no one has created a

Continue reading

Original Yeast

Bread, beer, infections—what’s the common thread? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science saying, in many cases, it’s yeast. But where did the FIRST yeast start? Meet scientists Gianni Liti from the Université Côte d’Azur and Joseph Schacherer from the Université de Strasbourg. They studied the

Continue reading

Zika Detector

Did playing doctor just get real? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. What if you could diagnose viruses – like Zika – from home? This may be possible very soon! Right now, a Zika diagnosis requires a blood test. This can be challenging and expensive

Continue reading

Sex and the Single Sawfish

Don’t have a date? Or a mate? No problem! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Animals sometimes go solo. Why? Because they can reproduce without mating: virgin birth! Technically, it’s called “parthenogenesis.” Instead of DNA from mom and dad, offspring just have mom’s DNA. So

Continue reading

Super Rice

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s… SUPER RICE? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Fertilizers are mostly made of NITROGEN. Plants needs it to grow. But, too much nitrogen SLOWS growth for some plants! Other plants grow BIG and TALL with lots of it.

Continue reading

Going Batty

What’s Batman’s REAL super-power? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Viruses take energy and nutrients from their hosts. BUT it also takes energy to FIGHT viruses! In us humans, eventually, either the host or the virus dies. But, BATS can carry viruses for YEARS. How?

Continue reading