Think filing your taxes is a pain? Imagine doing it in macramé! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. It may sound far-fetched but that’s exactly how the ancient Incas kept records. With colored, knotted strings called khipu. Colonial documents verify that khipu were used in
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Is the key to your teen’s happiness… a smartphone? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. They’re texting, on Facebook, or playing games. They SEEM to be enjoying themselves. After all, they KEEP playing Candy Crush and scrolling through their news feed. But could all of
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Too much to do on your to-do list? Sleep on it! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. It can be hard to fall asleep with unfinished tasks bouncing around our head. Many of us prepare for the next day with a to-do list. Others just
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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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Can your bridesmaids predict your lifespan? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Scientists say personality somewhat predicts mortality. For example, inactive, fatty-food-loving people are susceptible to early heart attacks. Psychologists at Washington University in St. Louis were interested in this mortality connection. Problem is, most
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Are you buying too many toys for your kids?? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Children leave toys everywhere in the house. What a mess! Sure, there’s no doubt that playing is critical for child development. But does the NUMBER OF TOYS affect how children
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Archaeologists dig deep and find jawbones, soup spoons, a curse??? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Yes, that is exactly what archaeologist Richard Buckley of the University of Leicester in England found, after excavating an important Roman settlement from about three hundred AD. In addition
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Who’s more sensible? Humans? Or Monkeys? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Meet Yale psychologist Laurie Santos. She researches human buying habits by having monkeys barter for treats. She says Capuchin monkeys understand economics. She gives them tokens—monkey money! Her monkeys are trained to exchange
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Think you look bad in selfies? Blame your camera! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Beauty is a big business. All day, pictures of beautiful people claim certain products will make you beautiful, too. But researchers at Iran’s Islamic Azad University wondered: Can cameras play
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Uh oh: blood-curdling screams aren’t just figures of speech anymore! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, and a terrifying new study from Leiden University Medical Center. Researchers there showed a group of healthy volunteers the twenty-ten horror film “Insidious.” After a week, the same group
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