On Christmas Day we ask: church air is pure—literally? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Chemists at Australia’s Queensland University of Technology made a miraculous discovery. Stained glass church windows literally clear the air when lit by sunlight. Lead researcher Huai Yon Zhu believes medieval glaziers
Continue readingKid’s Imaginary Friends
Santa Claus is coming to town—or is he? This is Sandra Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying: Of course he is! All kids know that! Of course, children can also have imaginary friends. Meet Psychologist Stephanie Carlson from the University of Washington and Marjorie Taylor from the University
Continue readingStorm of Spiders
It’s Stormy Monday….for spiders? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Meet Jonathan Pruitt and team from U-C Santa Barbara. They wondered if—similar to how humans rush to grocery store to hoard toilet paper—tropical cyclones make spider colonies more aggressive. They put a piece of paper
Continue readingSchrödinger’s Robber
Fine, I’ll share with you, but not everyone! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, asking, how selfish does that make me? Ask Carlos Alós-Ferrer from the University of Zurich. He and his team created selfishness games for 600 volunteers. In one game, pairs of players
Continue readingWild Chicken
Stand back, FOWL beast! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Hawaii has a feral chicken problem! The population has EXPLODED! And they destroy fruit trees. Farmers are P-O’d! But where did they come from? Enter Eben Gering, from Michigan State University. He collected chickens from
Continue readingUnfolding Mysteries
Write like an Egyptian! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. For ancient Egyptians, that would be on papyrus! Folded up. Argh. How do you unwrap fragile scrolls, without destroying them? Enter Egyptologist Verena Lepper of Humboldt University in Berlin. Her team used high powered X-ray beams
Continue readingCantankerous Capybaras
Help! Capybara catastrophe! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Forget mice! Imagine if your home was infested with giant brown guinea pigs! South America’s capybaras are the world’s largest rodents. Some consider them pests, but they’re illegal to hunt. Is there a harmless way to
Continue readingSweet Dreams
Bad night’s sleep? Try a HEAD RUSH! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Rapid eye movement – or REM – sleep is important not only for dreaming, but our mental health too. Does that mean we NEED to dream? Enter Chia-Jung Tsai and colleagues at
Continue readingBird-ger Kings
Human trash is a birds’ feast! Or a last supper? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Meet Andrea Townsend and colleagues from Hamilton College and U-C Davis. They tested for differences in cholesterol levels, general health, and survival rates, between urban and rural baby crows.
Continue readingCheating on Keto?
Do-nuts. Wait!! Are you on keto? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Keto’s low carb, high fat diet deprives you of glucose. Your body starts burning its fat reserves. Then come the fun cheat days! No? Meet Cody Durrer and colleagues from the University of
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