Could a cure for cancer be SLIMY?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Cancer researchers have tried everything under the sun to find a cure. But what about… under the sea? The Australian white rock sea snail secretes a special slime containing chemicals called indoles.
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Follow the CHOCOLATE brick road?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. You’re stressed. Your HEART is a traffic jam. Artery flow is at a crawl. Is there a shortcut outta this gridlock? Or at least a superfood? HMM…Cocoa contains heart healthy molecules called flavanols! YUM.
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Pokémon to the rescue! Of our environment? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Megan Callahan of the University of British Columbia realized something CURIOUS. Kids know more Pokémon species than real ones! Enter Phylo, an educational card game about ecosystems. Phylo cards feature animals, plants
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Is itchiness… CONTAGIOUS?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Zhou-Feng Chen and team from Washington University were ITCHING to find out. They showed mice a video of another mouse scratching. Then, the mice watching the video began to itch, too! The team monitored their neuron
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Feeling bloated after Thanksgiving? Good news: a boat that runs on human fat! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. A favorite story from our 20-year archive is that of Earthrace—a high-tech 2007 wave-piercing trimaran powered by biodiesel. Biodiesel is an eco-friendly, zero carbon footprint fuel
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Happy Thanksgiving, America! Meat gravy, vegan tofurky, arguing over politics?!? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Meet clinical psychologist Drew Westen and colleagues at Emory University. They used functional neuroimaging—a type of MRI scan—on die-hard Democrats and Republicans. They watched different brain areas become active,
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Flying on America’s busiest travel day? May The Force be with you! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Jason Steffens of Fermilab wondered: What’s the fastest way to board a plane? He found: LEAST efficient, boarding seats starting front row to back. SECOND worst? That
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In your face! Times eight! Ouch! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science saying… Question: Who’s crueler than a kid playing dodgeball? Answer: an octopus!! Peter Godfrey-Smith and the University of Sydney watched the violence from the sidelines. They analyzed twenty hours of octopus footage! These
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Saving energy? We’re talkin’ Little Shop of Horrors! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Consider the carnivorous pitcher plant. It’s a trash bag shaped plant that eats bugs to overcome nutrient deficient soil. That gave Anne-Kristin Lenz and the University of Bristol an idea for
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Can we afford this BUZZ TOWN?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Are bee habitats getting GENTRIFIED? Today’s urban gardens are full of harvest crops and ornamental flowers. Better place for bees than an empty lot with unkempt weeds, right? RIGHT? Enter Frances Sivakoff and
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