Plant Steroids

Beanie Babies are back… on the menu?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Growing food is great! Chemical fertilizers polluting the environment? Not so great.  Enter Nicola Cook and team at the John Innes Center in the U-K. They found a way to give plants a

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Church Air

On Christmas Day we ask: church air is pure—literally? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Chemists at Australia’s Queensland University of Technology made a miraculous discovery. Stained glass church windows literally clear the air when lit by sunlight. Lead researcher Huai Yon Zhu believes medieval glaziers

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Tree-Friendly

Hug a tree!  Especially if you are one! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Meet Martin Bader and Sebastian Leuzinger from Auckland University of Technology. Hiking in New Zealand, they came across a kauri tree stump. Despite not having any green foliage, the stump was

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Weed Warriors

Hey dude, it’s time for some weed. . . KILLING. This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Pesky weeds are a problem for gardeners and farmers. Chemical-based herbicides work, but they’re so bad for the environment! Enter Amina Hadayat and team from Huazhong Agricultural University in

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Water Wonder

Water treatment that’s effective…and CUTE! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Most treatment facilities purify water by using chemicals that glob onto bad stuff. But this process isn’t perfect… if only someone could lend a hand… or a tentacle?! Introducing the sea anemone Actinia! It

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Pink Snow

We all know to avoid yellow snow. But what about PINK snow? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with The Loh Down On Science. Pink snow forms when the surfaces of glaciers and ice sheets melt. Red algae grow in the meltwater and color the snow beneath. Scientists from the University

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Plastic for Dinner

Just say “no” to plastic straws. Think of the turtles! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science Plastic is everywhere – in packaging, fast-food containers … dirt?! Yes, dirt! Farmers sometimes mix plastic chips with mulch to improve plant growth. But the plastic stays in our

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Super-Predator

Oooh — where’s that wascally wabbit?? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Hey early risers – have you noticed more animals on your morning run versus your afternoon walk? Do all the bunnies leave for afternoon tea time? Unlikely! Kaitlyn Gaynor at U-C Berkeley wanted

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Bear-ly Exercising

Need a workout buddy? How about a….polar bear?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Studies show that ice in the Arctic is rapidly melting. Since polar bears call this ice home, how will its disappearance affect them? Anthony Pagano teamed up with zoos in San

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Smog Breath

Does this smog make me look fat? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, and a weight-gain study we hope doesn’t make you hyperventilate! Who’s asking it? Environmental health scientists at Ohio State University. They wanted to examine how exposure to air pollution early in life

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