Feathered Songmasters

Why does the caged bird sing… karaoke?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science saying…  To remember their feathers! I mean fathers!  Enter Carlos Rodríguez‑Saltos from the University of Southern California. He studied how captive male zebra finches learn to sing.  Turns out, male juveniles usually learn

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Cage Connection

Polly want… an iPad? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Pet parrots are smart and social, but often live alone. Their isolation can lead to stress, poor well-being, even self-harm. BUT, co-housing parrots can spread disease. Ew. Is… the answer… Zoom?!? Rebecca Kleinberger and team

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Cancer Gender Gap

Zombie outbreak! Who ya gonna call? Mommy?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. “Zombie” immune cells have been discovered that let tumors grow unchecked! But only in men’s bladders. How can we stop them? Qingchen Zhu from the Chinese Academy of Sciences went with a

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Sweet Dreams

Is there a hack for… dreams?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Lucid dreaming is when you realize that you’re dreaming while you’re still asleep. Could meditation strengthen this state of awareness between waking and sleeping? Osnabrück University’s Elena Gerhardt and team investigated. They divided

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Struck By Lightning

No one wants to be struck by lightning! Unless it feels good. This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be struck by lightning? Ask a tree! ​​Lightning strikes kill millions of trees each year, but SOME benefit from

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Bat Crazy

Getting nowhere with Google Maps? Try echolocation! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Did you know that bats experience traffic too? But they navigate it with a grace that puzzles scientists. Two thousand bats can emerge from one small cave opening in one minute. And

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Why So Smelly?

Summer’s coming and the heat is on!  Unfortunately. This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Our sweat is odorless, but our armpits can, er, stink.  Gurdeep Minhas and colleagues at Oxford found the culprit.  In armpit bacteria, there is a transport protein. Picture a conveyor belt bringing

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Mystery Milk

Yuck! Mom, what are you eating?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Breast milk gives babies the nourishment they need. But is that ALL it delivers? Enter Xin Cheng and team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. They tested breast milk from nearly five hundred

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With a Side of Friendship

Business dispute?  Break bread, not heads!  This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.  Kaitlin Woolley from University of Chicago hosted one hundred students for a meal.  They role-played as either a union leader or manager.  They were served either similar or different types of food.  As

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