Pain Off

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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All the Feels

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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Imagine Rat!

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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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

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Mouse 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

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Sleep 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

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Scent 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.

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Super-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

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Brain 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

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Just 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

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