NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS NEWSLETTER
Volume 11, Issue 6 (June, 2007)

____________________________________________________________

Welcome to the Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter.

Here is what you will find in this issue:

1. What's New at Neuroscience for Kids
2. Neuroscience for Kids Site of the Month
3. International Brain Bee Winners
4. Neuroscience on YouTube
5. New Curriculum Supplement from the NIH
6. Eye Tours
7. Toshiba Grant Programs for Science & Math Education
8. Media Alert
9. Treasure Trove of Brain Trivia
10. Summer E-mail Changes
11. Support Neuroscience for Kids
12. How to Stop Your Subscription
____________________________________________________________

1. WHAT'S NEW AT NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS

Neuroscience for Kids had several new additions in May including:

A. May Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter was archived
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/news115.html
B. Brown Widow Spiders Arrive in Louisiana
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/brownw.html
C. July-December Neurocalendars
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/pdf/july07.pdf
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/pdf/aug07.pdf
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/pdf/sept07.pdf
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/pdf/oct07.pdf
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/pdf/nov07.pdf
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/pdf/dec07.pdf
D. Neuroscience Events at a Glance Calendar, 2007
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/pdf/eventscal.pdf
E. Fish Recalled! May Contain Neurotoxin!!
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/pufferf.html

In May, 6 new figures were added and 46 pages were modified.
__________________________________________________________

2. NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS "SITE OF THE MONTH"

The Neuroscience for Kids "Site of the Month" for June is "NBIO440: Neural stem cell response to CNS pathology" at:

http://students.washington.edu/bdwhite/NBIO440/pmwiki.php

Bryan White, a graduate student in Neurobiology and Behavior at the University of Washington, developed the NBIO440 Web site when he taught a class about neural stem cells. The site is created as a "Wiki" where other students can contribute to the posted material. I asked Bryan to tell us more about this Web site:

"I went with a Wiki so I could motivate students in a pass/fail class by making their work public and relevant. They worked on collaborative group projects to increase accountability to their peers. In addition, I feel greater learning occurs when students take ownership of their learning and work together with other students on an authentic project.

The Wiki format allowed students to work together and modify the site from any computer on the Internet. In addition, each group could look at each other's source code and copy formatting tips if they saw something they liked. From the point of view of the instructor, I could see when they uploaded pages to the Web as well as who was doing the editing."


__________________________________________________________

3. INTERNATIONAL BRAIN BEE WINNERS

Melody Hu, a junior at Wayzata High School (Minneapolis, MN), won the 2007 International Brain Bee held last March in Baltimore, MD. For her achievement, Melody will receive an all-expense paid trip to San Diego to attend the 2007 Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting and a $3,000 scholarship check. She will also have the opportunity to work during the summer in a neuroscience lab. The second place winner, Sanat Sethi, won a $2,000 scholarship check and the third place winner, Morgan Bell, received a $1,000 scholarship check.
__________________________________________________________

4. NEUROSCIENCE ON YOUTUBE

You can find neuroscience in some strange places! And one of the strangest places I've found neuroscience is on the YouTube Video Web site. Here are two videos that put neuroscience in a new light:

A. "Brainstem" by Pinky and the Brain at:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=snO68aJTOpM

B. "I Think With My Brain Now" by some neuroanatomy students with too much time on their hands at:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=o130AwWFmYo
__________________________________________________________

5. NEW CURRICULUM SUPPLEMENT FROM THE NIH

The National Institutes of Health has created a new health science curriculum supplement for middle school students called "The Science of Healthy Behaviors." This material teaches students about the scientific study of behavior and how behaviors have short-term and long-term consequences to health. The supplement is completely free and available at:

http://science.education.nih.gov/customers.nsf/MiddleSchool.htm
__________________________________________________________

6. EYE TOURS

Two exhibits about the eye and vision are traveling around the United States in 2007. "The Eye Site" is an exhibit about low vision and will visit Oregon (Portland, Salem, Eugene) and West Virginia (Charleston, Bridgeport) in the next few months. For dates and places of the tour, see:

http://www.nei.nih.gov/

The other exhibit, "Vision," is finishing its display in Hagerstown (MD) at the Discovery Station. This exhibit was developed by the National Eye Institute. For details about "Vision," see:

http://www.nei.nih.gov/education/VISIONexhibit/
_________________________________________________________

7. TOSHIBA GRANT PROGRAMS FOR SCIENCE & MATH EDUCATION

Are you a science teacher with a great idea for your school but no money to develop the program? If you are, then maybe the Toshiba America Foundation can help. You can send in a grant application for $5,000 or less at any time or a grant application for more then $5,000 by February 1 or August 1. For details about how to apply for one of these grants, see:

http://www.toshiba.com/tafpub/jsp/home/default.jsp
_________________________________________________________

8. MEDIA ALERT

A. "The Uniqueness of Human Recursive Thinking" by Michael C. Corballis (American Scientist, May-June 2007) discusses the human ability to think about thinking.

B. "Lifting the Fog Around Anesthesia" by Beverley A. Orser (Scientific American, June 2007) discusses how anesthetics work and ways to make them safer.

C. "The New War on Pain" is the cover story of Newsweek magazine (June 4, 2007).

D. Winners in the 2007 Best Visual Illusion Contest have been announced. The first prize illusion (The Leaning Tower Illusion) is surprising simple, but my favorite of the top ten finalists are the "Steel Magnolias" and "Breeze in the Trees" Illusions. Do you have a favorite? See:

http://illusioncontest.neuralcorrelate.com/

E. "The Science of Disgust" by Michael D. Lemonick (Time magazine, June 4, 2007).

F. "Herbal Remedies' Potential Dangers" by Sanjay Gupta (Time magazine, June 4, 2007.

G. Discover Magazine is conducting a "Magazine Cover-Design Contest" for students in grades 3 through 8. Students must create original artwork to express "What science means to me." The winning entry will be the cover for the October issue of Discover Magazine. Artwork must be postmarked by June 20, 2007, and received by June 30, 2007. For rules and an entry form, see:

http://discovermagazine.com/2007/may/you-design-the-magazines-cover

H. The June/July 2007 issue of Scientific American MIND magazine is now on newsstands. Articles in the magazine include "The Powers and Perils of Intuition" (understanding gut feelings), "Kids on Meds: Trouble Ahead?" (antidepressants and children), "Programmed for Speech" (human and songbird research provides information about speech) and "Rhythm and Blues" (sleep and disease).
_________________________________________________________

9. THE TREASURE TROVE OF BRAIN TRIVIA

A. Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, was selected as one of the "Most Influential People in the World" by TIME magazine (May 14, 2007).

B. In 1956, there were 17 states in the US with a law that forbid people with epilepsy from getting married. It wasn't until 1980 that the last state (Missouri) repealed this law. (Source: Epilepsia, 44(s6):12-14, 2003.)

C. Johnnie L. Cochran Jr., the lawyer who defended O.J. Simpson against murder charges, died from complications of a brain tumor in 2005. On May 5, 2007, a research center named in his honor, the Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. Brain Tumor Center, opened at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

D. In 2000, US Drug Enforcement Administration agents seized approximately 41.3 kilograms (90.86 pounds) of the hallucinogenic drug LSD. This is the largest seizure of LSD that the DEA has ever made. (Source: DEA Web site, http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/states/newsrel/2003/sanfran033103.html)

E. In Greek mythology Sleep (Hypnos), Death (Thanatos), and Dreams (Oniros) were children of the goddess Night (Nyx); Neglect or Forgetfulness (Lethe) and Pain (Algos) were grandchildren of the Night (Nyx). (Source: Ture et al., The art of alleviating pain in Greek mythology, Neurosurgery. 56:178-185, 2005.)
_________________________________________________________

10. SUMMER E-MAIL CHANGES

Will you be away from school or work and unable to read your e-mail during the summer? Will you be changing e-mail addresses when school starts in August or September? Do you still want to receive the Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter? If you will not be able to receive e-mail over the summer or if you will be changing your email address, make sure that you let me know (e-mail: chudler@u.washington.edu) where to send the newsletter. If my e-mail to you bounces back to me because it could not be delivered, your e-mail address will be removed from the mailing list. If this happens to you, just send me an e-mail to resubscribe. Have a good summer!
_________________________________________________________

11. SUPPORT NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS

To insure that Neuroscience for Kids stays available, we need your help. If you would like to contribute to the funding of Neuroscience for Kids, please visit:

Help Neuroscience for Kids
_________________________________________________________

12. HOW TO STOP RECEIVING THIS NEWSLETTER

To remove yourself from this mailing list and stop your subscription to the Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter, send e-mail to Dr. Eric H. Chudler at: chudler@u.washington.edu
_________________________________________________________

Your comments and suggestions about this newsletter and the "Neuroscience for Kids" web site are always welcome. If there are any special topics that you would like to see on the web site, just let me know.

Eric

Eric H. Chudler, Ph.D.
(e-mail: chudler@u.washington.edu)
(URL: http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/neurok.html)