Chewing Out Invasives

Branch of mimosa tree with yellow mimosa flowers

Who doesn’t love a delicious Mimosa? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying no, not the cocktail – the plant! It’s an invasive shrub, native to Africa. And water buffalo love it! But when Mozambique’s civil war wiped out large leaf-eaters in Gorongosa National Park,

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Planting Secrets

Trees in a forest

Plants and climate change: a love-hate relationship! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Carbon dioxide, or CO2, is a major contributor to climate change. But it’s also a plant food source. When the sun shines, plants turn CO2 into food! So, back when there were

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Bumblebeer

Man pouring beer in a glass

Bees can sting, but can they make you…tipsy? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Brewing beer is an age-old tradition, and it’s all thanks to YEAST. There are nearly two thousand kinds of yeast on Earth. But only two types are used to brew beer:

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Post-Apocalyptic Plants

It’s said that cockroaches can live through the apocalypse!  Why can’t my garden be that resilient? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. When the mercury hits a new high, we humans can deal with it – we just stay indoors! But plants and animals are

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Veggie Tales

It’s flu season… for PLANTS?!? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Like us, plants catch viruses. Their home remedy? Plants use molecular scissors to break viruses into tiny pieces. These bits of genetic material are replicated, creating small interfering RNA’s — or siRNA’s. These act

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Global Caterpillar Killers

Are pests destroying your garden? Maybe you should just. . . move! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Biologists know there are more species of everything near the lush equator. Which means lots of plants — and animals to eat them, like hungry caterpillars! So

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Plantasia

Plants with bugs? And not the creepy crawly kind! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Plants use sunlight and carbon dioxide to make their food through a process called photosynthesis. But the process is buggy! Plants can accidentally grab oxygen INSTEAD of carbon dioxide. And

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Hopping to the Rescue

The Easter bunny is here… with a basket full of fresh air? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Urban homes often contain high levels of pollutants, known as volatile organic carcinogens. These VOC’s include formaldehyde, benzene, and chloroform. Yuck! Certain house plants are a good,

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Thinking Plants

Can plants think? Would you believe… yes? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Consider barberry, a European shrub. It produces bean-sized fruits, each with one or two seeds. Its biggest threat is a tiny fruit fly. The fly injects its eggs into one of the

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