Help! Capybara catastrophe! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Forget mice! Imagine if your home was infested with giant brown guinea pigs! South America’s capybaras are the world’s largest rodents. Some consider them pests, but they’re illegal to hunt. Is there a harmless way to
Continue reading
Welcome sweater weather! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. In Southern California, you can relax on the beach and hike in the mountains on the same day. You may need a windbreaker, hoodie, and jacket, though. What if you didn’t need all that wardrobe to
Continue reading
Never bring cocktail sauce to a shrimp fight. This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. The Peacock mantis shrimp throws the strongest punch in the animal kingdom. Their club-like claws deliver blows as damaging as twenty-two caliber bullets. Yowch! It’s been a mystery how the shrimp
Continue reading
Ice ice birdy! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Arctic birds are ecosystem all-stars. But when did they first take on the poles? Enter Patrick S. Druckenmiller and team from University of Alaska’s Museum of the North! They discovered Arctic bird fossils from seventy million
Continue reading
Is the cure for cancer… the bench team?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Immunotherapy rallies our defenses against tumors. But sometimes, the defense gets… tired. Older cells release inflammatory signals that weaken immune response. Can we replace them with a “second string?” Get in
Continue reading
Stand back, FOWL beast! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Hawaii has a feral chicken problem! The population has EXPLODED! And they destroy fruit trees. Farmers are P-O’d! But where did they come from? Enter Eben Gering, from Michigan State University. He collected chickens from
Continue reading
Alzheimer’s sneaks in quietly – but when does it really start? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Scientists have long known that Alzheimer’s unfolds slowly. But tracking it? Tricky – until now. Enter Laia Montoliu-Gaya and team at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. They compared
Continue reading
Got an ‘owwie?’ Could be worse! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Healing a bruise is no fun. But what if we could dial down the pain? Meet Tregs — an immune cell and zen master. They normally tell overactive immune responses like aches and
Continue reading
What’s the big stink about Antarctica? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Our atmosphere is full of tiny chemical particles that help form clouds. These particles control our daily weather and even the planet’s overall climate. And some of them smell! Why? Matt Boyer and
Continue reading
What if you could prevent bedsores without breaking the bank? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Bedsores are tissue damage caused by lying in one position for too long. Think hospitals and nursing homes. Current solutions use motorized air pump mattresses to relieve pressure, but
Continue reading