Cantankerous Capybaras

Call pest control – we’ve got a Capybara problem!  This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Termites and rats are bad enough! What if you woke up to find giant brown guinea pigs roaming around your lawn?! Capybaras, native to South America, are the largest rodents

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Sweet Dreams

Dreaming of a good night’s sleep? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Feeling tired–and awful?? You’re not alone! Dreaming, also called rapid eye movement or REM sleep, is important for health. And poor REM sleep has been linked to problems like Alzheimer’s disease! Enter Chia-Jung

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Quenched Grapes

Could our California grapes be turning into California Raisins?  This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. As global temperatures rise, the sun is beating down harder than ever on our crops! Like us, grapevines may need more water to replace what’s lost to heat. What amount

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Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!

Need a change in routine? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying, I spoke too soon! You’ve got that daily commute down – twenty, thirty minutes tops! BUT when your GPS says it’ll take thirty-ONE minutes — you ABANDON your usual route! What makes us

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Octo-Bot Arms

Watch out WALL-E, there’s a new WAVE of robots coming! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying… What has eight arms that move like liquid and can reach into cracks between rocks?!  An octopus of course! But robots? Forget about it! With rigid joints and

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Lather Up

Wash your mouth out with soap! Literally? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Uh oh… food poisoning! Your immune system protects you — but it can’t guard everywhere at once. What’s an upset stomach to do in the meantime?  Enter Ryan Gaudet and colleagues at

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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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