Run, run! I can almost see the CHEESE at the end of the tunnel?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. What motivates you to work out? Is it the abs you imagine after a few months? Or the pizza you imagine after you’re done? Imagination
Continue readingTag: neuroscience
Peace and Crying
Anyone got a tissue around here? *SNIFFLE* This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Crying. Babies, teenagers, and adults do it. Do tears have a purpose, besides getting tissues wet? Shani Agron and team from the Weizmann Institute of Science investigated. They collected tears from six
Continue readingMouse Reflections
With apologies to Mulan, Who is that MOUSE I see…staring straight back at me? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. How do you know what you’re SUPPOSED to look like? Sure you can look in a mirror. But how do we recognize the face staring
Continue readingSleep Munching
I can’t sleep! It’s insom-NOM-NOM-NOM-ia time! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Who doesn’t love saving a little snack for later? Sometimes WAY later. During the summer, reindeer eat ALL DAY to get ready for winter. Their stomachs have FOUR chambers, including one to store
Continue readingScent Smarts
Big city life – the sights, the sounds, the smells…is that PIZZA?!? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. We can smell a warm slice ANYWHERE! But how is it that our nose ALWAYS knows? Srinath Nizampatnam and colleagues at the University of Washington in St.
Continue readingSuper-Script
How do YOU channel your inner Aaron Sorkin? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. When we’re gabbing with our besties, the words just tumble out like an episode of The West Wing. But from where? How DO our brains produce the quick back-and-forth of conversational
Continue readingBrain Synch
“Once upon a time…” could be more than a fairy tale! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science…and storytelling as mind control!? Enhui Xie and Qing Yin from East China Normal University and colleagues wondered. Could telling stories turn strangers into friends?? Thirty-two volunteers were split
Continue readingJust Do It
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
Continue readingFish Fingers
Could that fish stick solve the secret to our sense of touch? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying: the answer is right at our fingertips. Meet Adam Hardy. He and colleagues from University of Chicago want to know how fingers feel. To do this
Continue readingAlien Limbs
Coming soon… “The Leg from Outer Space!” This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, and Alien Limb Syndrome! Patients with this condition describe feeling as if their arms and legs have a mind of their own. They’ll “scratch an itch” that doesn’t exist, or reach for
Continue reading