Unfolding Secrets

Historic sealed letters

Somebody’s reading my mail! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Three hundred years ago, letters had no envelopes. Instead, people folded them to make sure they could be delivered safely. Historians have found over five hundred unopened letters from Renaissance Europe. Is there a way

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Pee is for Propulsion

New insight on jet technology from… insect pee?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Attention 11 year olds! What do ‘butt-flickers,’ ‘frass-shooters,’ and ‘turd-hurlers’ have in common? They’re all sharpshooter insects that shoot their pee! And they can do it super fast. But how? Elio

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Bacterial Buddies

The solution to dirty drinking water might be… BACTERIA!? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Clean drinking water is a necessity, but contamination from toxic metals is a growing concern. Even tiny amounts can be extremely hazardous, so early detection is vital. How can we

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Sunny Psychedelics

Feeling down? Consider a TRIP to the doctor’s. This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Depression affects more than THREE HUNDRED MILLION people worldwide. Unfortunately, not all medications work for everyone. Does nature have an answer?  Robin von Rotz and team at the University of Zurich

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Emoji-motions

Smiley face emoji, SENT! But are you REALLY smiling?  This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Since ancient times, humans have used symbols to convey thoughts and feelings. The modern “emoji” is no different. But how might these images impact our mental health?   Moyu Liu at

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Holographic Sweets

As Willy Wonka says…come and taste the…holographic rainbow? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Shining, shimmering, splendid – holograms! Their rainbow colors show up on credit cards, stickers,  even currencies. Holograms are so fun and colorful – if only we could use them on food!

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Paige successfully advanced

Paige, our hive Social Media Managing Editor and former writer, successfully advanced to candidacy and is a Ph.D. Candidate! Her work focuses on a gene called PHLDA2 which promotes breast cancer metastasis. The advancement to candidacy exam accounts towards obtaining the Ph.D. degree and occurs before developing and defending the

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Heartificial-Bandaids

Forget bandaids! What if we could heal… from the inside OUT? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Some tissues in our bodies are harder to fix after they’ve been damaged. Take heart tissue, for instance. After a heart attack, our bodies try to fix damaged

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Allie Zito is awarded her Doctoral Degree

Hive managing editor Allie Zito has recently defended her PhD dissertation in the University of California, Irvine department of Chemistry! Her work focuses on electrochemical carbon dioxide capture and concentration. Allie has been a longtime member of the Hive and we are so excited for her accomplishment! Congratulations, Dr. Allie Zito!

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Radio Brains

Could music be the KEY to healthy brains?  This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science… saying… Be quiet! This is my jam! There’s nothing quite like good music to pick us up when we’re down. But could music help us recover from brain injuries?  That’s just

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