NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS NEWSLETTER
Volume 15, Issue 12 (December, 2011)

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In this issue:

1. What's New at Neuroscience for Kids
2. Neuroscience for Kids Site of the Month
3. Neuroscience for Kids Writing Contest
4. 2012 UW Brain Awareness Week Open House
5. Brain Experiment Contest
6. See Einstein's Brain
7. NEURO4KIDS.COM
8. Media Alert
9. Treasure Trove of Brain Trivia
10. Support Neuroscience for Kids
11. How to Stop Your Subscription
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1. WHAT'S NEW AT NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS

Neuroscience for Kids had several new additions in November including:

A. November Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter was archived
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/news1511.html
B. Waking Up to the Light
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/light.html

In November, 3 new figures were added and 14 pages were modified.
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2. NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS "SITE OF THE MONTH"

The Neuroscience for Kids "Site of the Month" for December is "Brain Biodiversity Bank" at:

https://www.msu.edu/~brains/index.html

The "Comparative Mammalian Brain Collections" site was one of the first web sites selected for a Neuroscience for Kids Site of the Month way back in 1998. Since that time, new web site associated with that original site have come online. One such site is this month's selection, the "Brain Biodiversity Bank" from Michigan State University.

The Brain Biodiversity Bank has some unique materials. From the entry page of the site, click on "Human" until the Atlases title. This will take you to a new page where you can see the human brain with its parts labeled. You can move forward, backward and side-to-side in the brain with a click of your mouse button.

My favorite parts of the web site are the MRI Quicktime movies through the brain. These movies take you on a fly-through the brain from front to back, side-to-side or top-to-bottom.

If you get tired of looking at the human brain, there are many more brains to explore on the site.
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3. NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS WRITING CONTEST - NOW OPEN

The 2012 NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS POETRY WRITING CONTEST is now open to students in kindergarten through high school, college students, teachers and parents. Use your imagination to create a poem, limerick or haiku about the brain and you might win a prize. The complete set of rules and the official entry form for the contest are available at:

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/contest12.html

Entries must be received by February 1, 2012!
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4. 2012 UW BRAIN AWARENESS WEEK OPEN HOUSE

Brain Awareness Week (BAW) is a yearly event to promote the public and personal benefits of brain research. As part of international BAW at the University of Washington, you are invited to an Open House on Wednesday, March 7, 2012.

The Brain Awareness Week Open House will include an interactive group assembly about the brain and hands-on exhibits that highlight brain research. The Open House will be held at the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI; 2700 24th Ave East, Seattle, WA), just south of the University of Washington Seattle campus. Because of the high interest in the Open House and limited space, the number of people who can attend may be restricted. To register for the Open House, please visit:

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/baw.html

Students, teachers and chaperones who attend the Open House will get FREE ADMISSION to MOHAI.
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5. BRAIN EXPERIMENT CONTEST

The Dana Foundation is sponsoring sponsoring a "Brain Experiment Contest" for high school students in the United States. The challenge is to design an original human brain-related experiment. You do not actually do the experiment. Rather you write up a research proposal as if you were going to do the experiment.

Use your knowledge about the brain and the scientific method of inquiry to create a strong proposal. Be creative with your project!

Each classroom can submit only one experiment and there is a limit of one submission for each instructor. The winning experiment will receive a $500 prize. The deadline for the competition is January 19, 2012, and the winner will be announced in March, 2012.

For more detailed information about the contest, see the Dana Foundation web site at:

http://www.dana.org/uploadedFiles/brainexperimentcompetition.pdf

Good luck!
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6. SEE EINSTEIN'S BRAIN

That's right. Albert Einstein's brain! Next time you are in Philadelphia, stop by the Mutter Museum and see Einstein's brain. Well, not the entire brain, but slides of the brain that were recently donated to the museum. The Mutter Museum web site has an announcement about the slide donation:

http://www.collphyphil.org/site/mutter_museum.html

Read about Einstein's brain at Neuroscience for Kids:

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/ein.html
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7. NEURO4KIDS.COM

It's time to get brainy gifts for your friends and family. Visit NEURO4KIDS.COM for that special present:

http://neuro4kids.com
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8. MEDIA ALERT

A. Listen to the BBC radio program "Mind Myths" (November 8, 2011) where I was interviewed with other neuroscientists about common misconceptions about the brain. Online at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b016wzs9

B. "Could It Be Alzheimer's?" by Beth Macy (PARADE magazine, November 13, 2011).

C. "Epigenetics Offers New Clues to Mental Illness" by Eric J. Nestler (Scientific American, December, 2012).

D. "A Flicker of Consciousness" by Eben Harrell (TIME magazine, November 28, 2011). This issue of TIME also selected several neuro-inspired devices in a list of "The 50 Best Inventions of the Year."

E. "Why Anxiety is Good for You" is the cover story in TIME magazine (December, 5, 2011).
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9. THE TREASURE TROVE OF BRAIN TRIVIA

A. Intracranial contents by volume (total volume = 1,700 ml, 100%): brain = 1,400 ml (80%); blood = 150 ml (10%); cerebrospinal fluid = 150 ml (10%) (Source: Rengachary, S.S. and Ellenbogen, R.G., editors, Principles of Neurosurgery, Edinburgh: Elsevier Mosby, 2005)

B. The Society for Neuroscience has 42,000 members in almost 90 countries. (Source: Society for Neuroscience, http://www.sfn.org/index.aspx?pagename=news_110111)

C. An estimated 30 million (12.7%) of people in the US who are 12 years and older have hearing lost in both ears; 48.1 million (20.3%) people have hearing loss in one ear. (Source: Lin, F.R., Niparko, J.K. and Ferrucci, L., Hearing loss prevalence in the United States, Arch. Internal Medicine, 171:1851-1852, 2011.)

D. Approximately 50 to 70 million people in the US suffer chronically suffer from a sleep disorder that affects their health. (Source: Sleep Disorders and Sleep Deprivation: An Unmet Public Health, National Academies Press, Washington, DC, 2006)

E. A French proverb states: "A brain is worth little without a tongue."
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10. SUPPORT NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS

To ensure that Neuroscience for Kids stays available, we need your help. All contributions to Neuroscience for Kids are tax deductible (subject to IRS regulations). If you would like to donate to Neuroscience for Kids, please visit:

Help Neuroscience for Kids
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11. 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
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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)