Cocoa Relaxer

Feeling stressed? Drink some cocoa! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Ten minutes ‘til my meeting and traffic’s at a crawl! Guess what? Blood flow can be choked in a similar way when you feel stress affecting your heart! Is there a chocolate flavored solution?

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Snowproof Genes

Cold weather — it’s SNOW joke! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. It’s freezing out, and you’re MISERABLE! Forget the down parka – what if your GENES could warm you ?  Enter Victoria Wyckelsma from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and team. They study a

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Bee Caffeinated

That first heady sip of coffee–yess! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. I can’t get my day started without my cup of joe! Do other creatures get a boost from a caffeine buzz? Enter Sarah Arnold from the University of Greenwich and team! They wanted

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Nowhere to Hide

Come out, come out, wherever you are!   This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. To treat cancer, first you have to find it –but cancer likes to play hide-and-seek. What if we could spot it easily — like exploring a cave with a flashlight?  Nozomi Nishizawa

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Dye Another Day

Oh no! Is that . . . a new gray hair?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Was it stress from traffic? Or hosting that interminable Thanksgiving dinner? More importantly, can I reverse it?  Enter Ayelet Rosenberg from Columbia University and team. They tracked down

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Gobble Gobble!

Pass the turkey – with extra tryptophan, please! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. We love our friendly gut bacteria – they help break down our Thanksgiving dinner! However, people with Celiac disease have less of this bacteria, leading to extra digestion troubles. What’s a

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Golden Ticket

There’s gold in them there … bacteria? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. When gold and copper are surrounded by certain other chemicals, they’re toxic to the environment. This can hurt the soil, and, in turn, the plants and animals living there. But Nature has

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APP Yourself!

Personalized plates! Personalized toys! Personalized … personality?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Want to be more sociable, conscientious, considerate? You’re in luck – there’s an app for that!  That’s right – Mirjam Stieger from Brandeis University and team have developed a personalized personality APP.

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Bee-Building Blocks

Bob the Builder – meet Bee the Builder! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Picture a beautiful honeycomb made of hexagonal cells. Honeybees build cells in two sizes. Small for worker bees and large for male reproductive bees. How do they make the most of

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Space Race

Traveling to Mars? Don’t forget the sunblock! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying – Pop on those shades! Both the sun AND our galaxy put out some deadly stuff. Too much basking in cosmic rays can lead to cancer and even deadly radiation poisoning.

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