Is the cure for that next cold. . . your love handles? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. If your pants are too tight, perhaps there’s a silver lining. Consider a new study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health. They discovered that fat
Continue readingTag: health
Pearly Reds
A merlot a day keeps the… DENTIST away? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science saying, apparently it does in Spain! We’ve heard of the many potential benefits of red wine for our colon and heart… but could it help us in other ways? Bacteria live
Continue readingFatter Bugs
Feeling fat? Blame it on your gut—and by that we mean the bacteria that live inside it! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Jeffrey Gordon, from Washington University in Missouri, analyzed the belly flora of twelve obese people. He found they all had increased amounts
Continue readingGraphene Chips
Microchips as tasty as…potato chips? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. You may have heard of graphene. It’s pure carbon arranged in a one atom thick honeycomb pattern. In this form, carbon becomes stronger than steel, and makes better wires than copper. While potentially useful
Continue readingFantastic Voyage
Do you remember the classic movie, Fantastic Voyage? If not that, then at least Raquel Welch’s jumpsuit? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. It’s fun to think about how 21st century science has actually caught up with 1960s science fiction. In this case, think mini-submarines
Continue readingNo More Wheezing
Hey, tired new parents! Got an infant who wheezes her way through the night? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying: Get a dog! Saying, at least that’s according to a study by the University of Cincinnati’s Paloma Campo. Campo tested air quality in the
Continue readingGoing 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 readingHockey Noise
Now that hockey season’s ending, let’s check the damage. To participants’ groins, teeth, ears? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Consider this study on hockey noise done by University of Alberta audiologists Richard Liu and William Hodgetts. To measure the overall noise during three play-off
Continue readingFlash Flu Fix
Travelling on an airplane this flu season? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. AH-CHOO! Scootch scootch! Between the close quarters and recycled air, there’s a good chance you’ll catch something. You can try to protect yourself by wearing a mask or popping vitamin C. But
Continue readingKitty Placebo
Do our pets experience the placebo effect? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. The placebo effect is when people’s belief that a treatment is working makes them feel better. But we can also imagine that a treatment is making our pets better. So how can
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