Your daily 90-second dose of real science for real people, with Sandra Tsing Loh!
Is your brain. . . a hoarder? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying, actually, not. Consider: so much happens throughout a day, but we don’t remember every detail the next morning. That’s because from day to day, a night of sleep provides a housekeeping
Today’s update is sure to … bring you down? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying: That’s not exactly the goal of French medical researchers. They investigated the neurochemical basis of marijuana addiction. How? They got rats high by injecting them with marijuana’s active ingredient
Is “Don’t worry, be happy!” an effective strategy for life? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying: That may be a question for positive psychology. While traditional psychology focuses on dysfunction, positive psychology studies how people thrive. But critics say the field depends on a
Does your IT guy have a criminal mind? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Forensic T-V shows can be fun and suspenseful to watch. Clues at crime scenes! Thrilling chases! DNA matches! But could a CRIMINAL watching these shows actually LEARN a thing or two?
Sleep. You want it, you need it, but are you getting enough? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Compared to half a century ago, we get about two hours less of sleep every night! And the cost of progress is measurable: lack-of-sleep-related driving accidents, medical
Does mom play favorites … with milk? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying:It seems like an odd question. But since the 1970s, scientists have been studying whether mother animals treat daughters and sons differently. And, at least in terms of lactation, the answer is
Don’t speak the language? Just keep smiling! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Many gestures are universal. A warm smile is innately understood all around the world. A thumbs up, however? That’s learned and doesn’t translate across cultures. But where did all of these gestures
A merlot a day keeps the… DENTIST away? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science saying, apparently it does in Spain! We’ve heard of the many potential benefits of red wine for our colon and heart… but could it help us in other ways? Bacteria live
Feeling fat? Blame it on your gut—and by that we mean the bacteria that live inside it! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Jeffrey Gordon, from Washington University in Missouri, analyzed the belly flora of twelve obese people. He found they all had increased amounts
The humanities! Not so HUMAN? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Long ago, homo sapiens weren’t the only people on the block. Before modern humans arrived from Africa, Europe was home to Neanderthals. We usually think of this sister species as brutish and uncultured. And