Sleep is for the weak. Or is it? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. During sleep, the brain declutters, organizes memories, and rejuvenates. But what about animals without a brain? Do they ever need a snooze? Enter the Cassiopea jellyfish. With no heart, bones, or
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Too big…? too small… ? This BODY size is just right! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Mammals that live in the ocean are some of the largest animals in the world. Think whales and walruses. These mammals’ ancestors used to live on land. When
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What do island paradises and diapers have in common? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, with the poop on coral-reef islands! These islands build up from sediment deposited over time. But where does that sediment come from? Sometimes, from parrotfish! To be specific, parrotfish poop!
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When it comes to hunting prey, what’s a shark’s secret? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying: They’ve got it under their skin. Sharks can detect electrical fields of moving prey. How? They have a network of pores around their snout called ampullae of Lorenzini.
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Chameleons and kelp – what do they have in common? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Chameleons change colors to hide or to express their feelings — like living mood rings! But seaweed doesn’t change color… or does it? Meet Heather Whitney from the University
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Don’t have a date? Or a mate? No problem! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Animals sometimes go solo. Why? Because they can reproduce without mating: virgin birth! Technically, it’s called “parthenogenesis.” Instead of DNA from mom and dad, offspring just have mom’s DNA. So
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Manatees: Just slow-witted, underwater bean bag chairs who swim into boat propellers, right? But wait! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Manatees got their bad rap a century ago. That’s when an anatomist cracked open the skull of a dead manatee and declared its smooth
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Where’s the Terminator when you really need him? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, and an ecosystem under attack. Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is truly a wonder of the natural world. But it faces a dangerous interloper: The Crown of Thorns starfish, or “COT” for
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Newsflash: Butts are hurting marine life! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying no, we don’t mean too-small G-strings at the beach. Cigarette butts are the most common form of litter on beaches. Volunteers cleaned up more than 2 million of them from the world’s
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It isn’t easy eating green! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Eastern coastal waters are home to pretty green sea slugs, called eastern emerald elysia. They look like leaves! What’s more, these marine animals eat algae, a plant. Then somehow they use the algae to
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