Mushroom Counterfeiters

Counterfeit mushrooms? That’s nothing to sniff at. This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Italian alba white truffles are a fungal delicacy. Connoisseurs love their distinct aroma and taste. So much so, that their going rate is about three thousand dollars per pound! Unfortunately, the aroma

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Drip Drop

The sound of insomnia: cue the LEAKY FAUCET! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, on the most annoying sound ever. What causes that DRIP DRIP of a leaky bathtub? It’s not what you think! Anurag Agarwal at the University of Cambridge discovered the cause —

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Bird Peace

Birds of a feather flock together. Or do they? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Bird fights happen, especially with nests nearby. At best, birds of different species ignore each other. But is that the only way to achieve avian world peace? Meet Allison Johnson

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Panda-nomics

Pandas! Black, white…and loaded with green? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. As of 2016, giant pandas are no longer an endangered species! Conservation efforts are clearly paying off. But maintaining panda sanctuaries costs China two to three hundred million dollars a year. Is it

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The Nerve!

Are cockroaches lending a helping hand? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. I know – technically cockroaches don’t have hands… But they do have legs, and they’re revolutionizing prosthetic limbs. How? Yeongin Kim and colleagues at Stanford University have created an artificial nerve. It senses

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Power House

Hey couch potatoes! Could watching TV power… your home? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Despite our best intentions, we constantly waste energy. Not because I fell asleep watching Jeopardy, again, but due to heat loss. Phones, computers, cars – almost any device or large

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Slip n’ Slide

Hold onto your MARBLES, this ice is slippery! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Ever slip and fall on an ice-skating rink? People often blame this slipperiness on a layer of freshly melted water on top of ice. But recent research by brothers Mischa and

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Pain-Free Family

Which hurts more—creeping barefoot across a bed of hot coals, or shoving razor sharp knives into your arms? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying: Neither! At least for members of certain street-performing family from Pakistan. All six members were born with the inability to

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Croc Meets Bach

Photo of a crocodile laying in wet sand

Do crocodiles like the Crocodile Rock …or do they prefer classical? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. When you get a concussion, doctors use an M-R-I to take pictures of your brain. Remember that big hollow tube that patients lie down inside of on Grey’s

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