Worm Scouts

Boy scouts can learn a thing or two about knots… from WORMS? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Have you ever tried to tie a knot so tight that you couldn’t undo it? Turns out there are OTHER organisms that have mastered the knotting technique!

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Sunny Psychedelics

Feeling down? Consider a TRIP to the doctor’s. This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Depression affects more than THREE HUNDRED MILLION people worldwide. Unfortunately, not all medications work for everyone. Does nature have an answer?  Robin von Rotz and team at the University of Zurich

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Drought, Get Out!

Can we get some water over here? *HACK*  This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. One-sixth of earth’s population lives in the desert. Beautiful, unspoiled. . . But dry! Our planet is covered in water, but most of it is saltwater. Turning saltwater into usable freshwater

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Disappearing Act

What?! He just… disappeared! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Nocturnal glassfrogs don’t need a magician to make them disappear. They have translucent skin and muscles that help them camouflage as they sleep. We can’t even see their blood! How do they do that, and

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Queen Vaccine

Vaccinate your … BEES?!!!!!?!  This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Bees are essential to our food supply and planet. However, our buzzing little friends can get sick just like us. Some diseases can wipe out an entire hive! How can we save them? Fear not,

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Lightning Thief

Look out Percy Jackson, there’s a new lightning thief in town! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. From Greek mythology to Benjamin Franklin, humans have been fascinated by lightning. For centuries, lightning rods have been used to “catch” lightning, preventing fires. Unfortunately, they’re not always

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River Tales

Otrar landscape nowadays (ghost town)

What has a mouth but doesn’t speak? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Busy markets, plentiful farms, streets filled with Silk Road caravans… The oasis city of Otrar! A thousand years ago, Otrar was a part of the flourishing river civilization in Central Asia. It’s

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Rivers of Colors

River crossing green land fields

We’d be lost without maps! Streets — highways – wait, what’s that squiggly blue line? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying — It’s got to be a river, right? But are rivers REALLY blue? John Gardner at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and

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Microdosing for Plants

Don’t mind me! I’m just microdosing my plants… with ALCOHOL!? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Rice and wheat are staple foods that are at risk globally due to drought. So, scientists want to improve plant growth during water restriction. Could ethanol, a drinkable alcohol,

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That Playpus Glow

What has fur and GLOWS brighter than a Tyra Banks Smize?! (That’s a smile with your eyes.) This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Some animals really light up a room…BUT only under ultraviolet light. This is called biofluorescence. Scientists believe mammals like possums use it

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