In a food coma after too much holiday fressing? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Researchers at the University of Manchester, lead by Dennis Burdakov, can explain. When we’re hungry, we have low levels of glucose in our bloodstream and brain. That activates tiny proteins
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Bad night’s sleep? Try a HEAD RUSH! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Rapid eye movement – or REM – sleep is important not only for dreaming, but our mental health too. Does that mean we NEED to dream? Enter Chia-Jung Tsai and colleagues at
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Happy Thanksgiving, America! Meat gravy, vegan tofurky, arguing over politics?!? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Meet clinical psychologist Drew Westen and colleagues at Emory University. They used functional neuroimaging—a type of MRI scan—on die-hard Democrats and Republicans. They watched different brain areas become active,
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Your brain is a masterpiece! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Scientists have long scratched their heads studying brains. But brain tissue is a scarce resource! Can we make more brains? Enter Yuanwei Yan and Xueyan Li from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. They developed a
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What’s black, white, and LOVES siestas? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Humans enjoy cat naps, particularly at our desks, but if you’re a creature out in the wild? Dozing off can make you lunch for predators. Or does it? Enter the Chinstrap penguins of
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Pain switch? Turn it off! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. When pain calls, you may order that prescription… with a risky side effect of addiction? Yikes! Is there another way to hit mute on pain? Enter Wynn Legon and team from Virginia Tech. Their
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Can’t touch this…unless you’ve got ELKIN1! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Touch is central to being human. It allows us to navigate the world safely and connect with others. Touch requires physical forces to be turned into electrical signals our brains can recognize. What
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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
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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
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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
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