Fungal Construction

Doesn’t Bob the Builder seem like a fun-gi? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Wood, steel, concrete – SO last season! What’s the next ‘it’ construction material?  Ross McBee from Columbia University and his teams bet on LIVING BRICKS! They started with brick-shaped molds full

Continue reading

Dyno-mites!

If you can’t stand the heat – get out of the beehive!  This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Bees are THE SWEETEST. But varroa destructor mites decimate THOUSANDS of bee colonies every year!  Chemical pesticides for these mites can be toxic to bees and beekeepers.

Continue reading

Cheese Community

Image of cheese.

It’s more than a cheese platter – it’s a COMMUNITY!  This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Ever step into a fancy cheese shop? The smells, the flavors – and for some of us, the funkier, the better!! But, leave the brie out too long and

Continue reading

Fungus Versus the Volcano

Conidia of the fungus Alternaria

Do FUNGI put the FUN in … cleaning? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science… and a VOLCANIC scientific discovery! Volcanic eruptions create a chemical called Selenium. And industry has since increased Selenium in water to toxic levels. Can we get help to clean it? Mary

Continue reading

Let it Brie

Ah, gay Par-ee! The smell of fresh baguettes, coffee, and… CHEESE!  This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying, oui, oui! In France, cheese gets its yummy taste from a special fungus called Penicillium camemberti. It’s had hundreds of years to hone its cheesy qualities. But

Continue reading

Psychedelic Zombie

Clawing its way out of an earthen tomb…it’s the living dead, ready to feed! This is Sandra Tsing-Loh, with the Loh Down on Science. Imagine opening the door to find a horde of brain-hungry UNDEAD on your lawn! Yikes! Thankfully, zombies aren’t real. Right? Wrong! They ARE real! And they

Continue reading

Zombie Antz

News flash: Zombies. . . ARE REAL. This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying… I don’t mean the human living dead, but troves of zombie ANTS??!! It happens when a parasitic fungus hijacks their brains.The fungus releases chemicals into the ants that compels them to

Continue reading

Just Add Mushrooms

Look out! Pothole! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Potholes and cracks. Every commuter’s nightmare. If only the problem could fix itself! Enter Congrui Jin and her team at Binghamton and Rutgers universities. They filled in the cracks by hiring some self-motivated construction workers. Who?

Continue reading