Leftovers for Bacteria

Tired of leftovers? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Current food waste disposal methods can lead to greenhouse gases and air pollution. Beenish Saba and team at Ohio State University found a disgusting solution. Bacteria CAN turn food into USEFUL lab chemicals like acetate, butanol,

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Chromatic Aromatics

From the lab bench to fashion week! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. The chemicals in fabric dyes are harmful to the environment, polluting our water sources. Researchers are looking for eco-friendly ways to modify fabrics. Like Rafael Grande and team from the University of

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Guilt-Free Corn

Would you eat more corn if it used less fertilizer? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Half of the world is fed by crops grown with NITROGEN fertilizers! But the nitrogen that plants can’t use pollutes the environment! How do we cut back? Enter Rafael

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Protect the Orcas!

What’s black and white and… full of toxic sludge? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Imagine the ocean was your home until… it became a murky wasteland. Well, prepare to cry: killer whales off British Columbia are in DEEP trouble. Kiah Lee and team from

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After the Fire

  There’s something in the air… This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Wildfire season is over, but the air still feels thick. Tingting Ye and team from Monash University in Australia were concerned. Could small particles in the air be harmful even months after a

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Green Driving

Beep, beep! That guy ahead’s not just a bad driver, he’s destroying the planet! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Stop-and-go traffic is maddening, AND it increases fuel use and emissions! Vindula Jayawardana and Cathy Wu from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology wondered: can self-driving

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Church Air

On Christmas Day we ask: church air is pure—literally? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Chemists at Australia’s Queensland University of Technology made a miraculous discovery. Stained glass church windows literally clear the air when lit by sunlight. Lead researcher Huai Yon Zhu believes medieval glaziers

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Relaxing Drives

Windblown hair? Don’t care! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Who doesn’t love a drive with the windows down! Gets you fresh air… or does it? Enter Michael T. Young and the University of Washington. They had sixteen participants drive three different days through Seattle

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Seaworthy Straws

Feeling di-STRAW-t over ocean pollution? Listen up. This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Plastic straws degrade slowly in landfills and the ocean, far outliving their single use. Biodegradable straws have become more popular. But are they really ocean-friendly? Bryan James and team from Woods Hole

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Driving the Distance

Time to put your Tesla to the test! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Do more electric cars on the road mean less pollution? FIRST, we need to know how much they’re driven! Enter Lujin Zhao and team from George Washington University. Researchers analyzed over

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