medical – The Loh Down On Science

Mobile Medic

June 6, 2023 Claire Freimark

Could the next medical breakthrough be… in your pocket? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Anemia is a blood condition that reduces hemoglobin, which moves oxygen through the body. In children, it can slow development and deplete immune systems. Diagnosing anemia usually requires a blood

Bandage Diagnosis

May 20, 2021 Ying Huang

Image shows the microneedle-based skin patch from article which can be used for rapid medical testing.

Doc – it’s been two days! Where are my medical results? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. You’ve come down with a bug, so you took a blood test. Now, you’re waiting for the results AND a huge medical bill. Is there a faster —

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

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 US have diabetes – which can lead to vision trouble, among other things. Keeping track of blood sugar levels means pricking your finger several times every

Tell-tale Tattoo

November 1, 2019 Maria Montchal

Want a tattoo your parents would approve of? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. For diabetics, tracking blood sugar is important – but annoying. Finger-pricking is painful. Patches that monitor blood sugar are expensive and can come unstuck. Is there a better way? Enter Ali

Ink of My Heart

October 1, 2019 Jaclyn Beck

What if a tattoo could save your life? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Heart disease patients need continuous heart monitoring for optimum treatment. But traditional monitors are bulky and uncomfortable to wear. Electronic, or E-tattoos, are a comfortable, wearable alternative. These thin devices are

More Fat, Less Stress

September 5, 2019 Kendra Walters

Euh! A lock of grey hair! I blame my teenagers. This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Worse than going grey, stress-induced inflammation can cause problems like allergies or depression. But there’s hope in the strangest form! Mycobacterium vaccae, a species of bacteria found in soil,

Painless Pill

August 26, 2019 Preeta Pratakshya

Shots or pills? How about BOTH? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. I would pick pills over shots any day! Easier to take and PAINLESS – hypodermic needles are scary!! But what about the drugs that HAVE to be injected? For those, Alex Abramson from

I Heart Robot

August 20, 2019 Maria Montchal

The robots are coming… after my heart? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. To fix a leaky heart valve, surgeons drive a snake-like robot through your heart to get to the leak, kind of like a roto-rooter. But arteries aren’t exactly smooth drives in the

Honey, I’m Cured!

August 15, 2019 Brenna Biggs

A spoonful of sugar helps the… INFECTION go down? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science saying…ah-CHOO! Colds are the WORST! That cruddy, fatigued, phlegmy feeling! But for people with cystic fibrosis, it never ends. This hereditary disease coats the body’s glands in mucus, causing lung