What’s that inside our livers? Could it be the undead?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. When cells can no longer divide, they die. But sometimes…they become zombies! Scientists call this cellular senescence. In this state, cells release chemicals that can make other cells sick.
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Does menstrual blood have healing powers?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Special cells in period blood help rebuild uterine lining every month. Could those cells repair other tissues, too? Enter Gabija Kugaudaite and team at Kaunas University in Lithuania. To test this hypothesis, they
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Aging rewrites immune systems, but is nature giving men and women entirely different scripts? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Maria Sopena-Rios from the Barcelona Supercomputing Center studied immune cells from nearly a thousand adults. The plot twist? Older women develop hyper-alert, inflammatory cells. This
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Friends don’t let friends… get wrinkly??? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Friendships are one of life’s joys, but could they also slow aging? Dr. Anthony Ong and team at Cornell studied over two thousand middle-aged adults to find out. They compared bloodwork to biological
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Got an ‘owwie?’ Could be worse! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Healing a bruise is no fun. But what if we could dial down the pain? Meet Tregs — an immune cell and zen master. They normally tell overactive immune responses like aches and
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Up in age, but young at heart! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Aging is about how well your body and mind hold up over time. How do we measure that? Enter Matías Fuentealba and team at the Buck Institute. They developed a blood test that
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Can lidocaine… mess up your brain?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Lidocaine is a commonly used local anesthetic. BUT elderly patients who typically undergo more surgeries have long lasting memory issues after. Coincidence? Xiaohui Chen and colleagues from Fujian Medical University investigated! The team
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Can protein cause… back pain?!… in rats?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. When we get hurt, our bodies send tiny proteins to kickstart healing. But sometimes, they work against us! How?! Protein C-D forty seven helps cells hide from the immune system, making inflammation
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No time to exercise? There might still be a “runners high” on the way! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Whew! Just one more lap around the block! Or … hamster wheel? Even lab mice can get a “runners’ high!” And those who get their
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Which one was it ma’am? The whole milk? No milk? Two percent? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Boy, that coffee shop creamer counter looks like a crime scene. Evidence spilled all over, straws kerfuffled, and all but three napkins mysteriously gone… they’re in my
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