Your daily 90-second dose of real science for real people, with Sandra Tsing Loh!
Who’s smarter? Man’s best friend? Or wolves? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Many canine experts say dogs are smarter than wolves. That’s based on studies where researchers gave both animals unsolvable tasks. Like: removing treats from jars. Dogs usually give up. They turn their
Can mosquito species tell each other apart? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying: Well, not really. That’s why yellow fever mosquitoes will try to mate with Asian tiger mosquitoes, and vice versa. Enter University of Florida entomologists. They wondered about yellow fever mosquito populations
Can you teach a chimp to cook? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying: Chimps probably won’t be whipping up souffles anytime soon. But there is evidence they might want to. Meet Alexandra Rosati and Felix Warneken of Harvard University. They’ve been conducting some intriguing
Look, up in the sky! It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a… SUPER…ANT? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. To bugs, trees spell one thing: FOOD! Caterpillars and grasshoppers are connoisseurs of the leafy species. But is there a bright side to trees having
Spiders who love video games too much? Story at 11! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Jumping spiders are well-known for their good vision. But researchers have a hard time getting them to display natural behaviors in the lab. That’s why scientists at Australia’s Macquarie
I still don’t know what the fox says. Giraffes, though, are another story! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Cats meow. Dogs bark. A sound has never been ascribed to giraffes, though. Until now. Austrian researchers painstakingly recorded – and analyzed – almost one thousand
Ever wish someone would watch your kids like a hawk? Literally? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Imagine you’re a hummingbird. You’re small. Your eggs are small. Potentially, squirrel lunch. What can you do? Get protection. Hire a hawk! That’s where Harold Greeney comes in.
Can you think faster than a pigeon? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Most of us claim to be amazing multi-taskers. But what about birds? Researchers from Ruhr [ROOR] University Bochum [BOH-kum] in Germany decided to put this challenge to the test. They had about
“Gimme your lunch money!” – Remember that from recess? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. The Karate Kid versus Johnny the Bully. Can the physically weak win against the incredibly strong? It’s not just humans. Animals use physical dominance to establish their social rank. Take
The Very Hungry Caterpillar…is STILL hungry! Watch out!! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Caterpillars love to snack on plants. Poor plants! Since they can’t move, they have few options for self-defense. But one clever plant might a few tricks up its sleeve! John Orrock