health – The Loh Down On Science

Painless Proboscis

September 25, 2020 Van Wifvat

Mosquitos! What a pain! Or…are they? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Mosquitos are a familiar foe. They bite and leave behind itchy reminders of their presence. But how is it we never notice them sucking our blood until it’s too late? At the Ohio

Little Champs

September 23, 2020 Victoria Lim

How do kids have so much BLEEPING energy? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Young children can scream and run around all day. It’s like they have enough energy to be Olympic athletes… But could they really? Anthony Birat and colleagues at Clermont-Auvergne University decided

Diabetic Lenses

August 28, 2020 Claudia-Francisca Lopez Camara

An eyeball with a contact lens with electrodes

Is that sugar in your…. EYE!? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. More than thirty million people in the U-S have diabetes – which can lead to vision trouble, among other things. Keeping track of blood sugar levels means pricking your finger several times every

Heat Waves

August 11, 2020 Lauren Urban

Thermostat in the outdoors during summer

Is it just me, or is it warm in here?!? ? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Temperatures are heating up! According to NASA, the Earth’s global temperature has warmed two degrees since the eighteen eighties. BUT, what does two degrees REALLY mean? Global temperature

Walk Like an Avatar

July 31, 2020 Lauren Urban

Avatars can walk-the-walk — can you? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Walking? Piece of cake! We’ve been doing it since we were babies. BUT retraining these motor skills after injury or surgery can take YEARS of physical therapy. Is there a way to speed

Bacteria Army

July 21, 2020 Kimia Montazeri

Red running track with white lanes labeled 1 through 8

Bacteria trained for the mission … impossible! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Ever seen bacteria in petri dishes? They’re like bad disco dancers – all over the place! But is there more to these troublemakers than just randomly dancing around? Enter Taras Turiv and

Gait Aid

July 20, 2020 Sebastian Waz

Could a new pair of kicks kick-start a healthy habit? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Ah, an early morning run! Fresh air, golden sunshine, lush scenery… huffing-and-puffing, chest pains, shin splints! How can we have the FUN of running without all that hard work?

Indoor Smog

June 25, 2020 Alex Jarnot

How’s the air quality today…at home? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. When you hear the words “air quality,” most people think of smog. That nasty brown stuff in the air. On a bad day, you try to stay indoors and avoid it. But is

A Squat a Day

June 22, 2020 Chloe Groome

Can hunter-gatherers teach us healthier habits? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. I always wear my Fit-Bit! But it doesn’t do much good when we mostly sit on our butts all day. Humans weren’t meant to be so sedentary, right? Brian Wood at UCLA and

Stressed Out

April 29, 2020 Racine Rangel

Stressed out over grey hair?! Join the club! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Blonde, brunette, redhead — where do all those shades come from? As our hair grows, pigment-producing stem cells slowly turn into colored cells. BUT over time, we start to see some