Mighty Methane Munchers

It’s jolly! Its green! But its …not a giant? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. The ocean is teeming with diverse life, especially at hot vents on the ocean floor! For example, Archaea — single celled organisms, not to be confused with bacteria. Tiny, one-celled

Continue reading

Fantasy Islands

What do island paradises and diapers have in common? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, with the poop on coral-reef islands! These islands build up from sediment deposited over time. But where does that sediment come from? Sometimes, from parrotfish! To be specific, parrotfish poop!

Continue reading

Garbage Gobblers

What do cockroaches and plastics have in common? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying…they both can last for THOUSANDS of years! Its estimated that there are more than five TRILLION plastic bits floating in our oceans. That’s more than the number of stars found

Continue reading

Nordic Adventure

Vikings! Grab your helmets! And your, MAGIC CRYSTALS? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Centuries ago, Vikings ruled the North Atlantic without compasses. Instead of following north, legends say they chased the sun using CRYSTALS, known as sunstones! These chunks of pure calcite split light

Continue reading

Shark Sense

When it comes to hunting prey, what’s a shark’s secret? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying: They’ve got it under their skin. Sharks can detect electrical fields of moving prey. How? They have a network of pores around their snout called ampullae of Lorenzini.

Continue reading

Rainbow Roll

Chameleons and kelp – what do they have in common? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Chameleons change colors to hide or to express their feelings — like living mood rings! But seaweed doesn’t change color… or does it? Meet Heather Whitney from the University

Continue reading

Mind Over Manatee

Manatees: Just slow-witted, underwater bean bag chairs who swim into boat propellers, right? But wait! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Manatees got their bad rap a century ago. That’s when an anatomist cracked open the skull of a dead manatee and declared its smooth

Continue reading

Starfish Wars

Where’s the Terminator when you really need him? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, and an ecosystem under attack. Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is truly a wonder of the natural world. But it faces a dangerous interloper: The Crown of Thorns starfish, or “COT” for

Continue reading