NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS NEWSLETTER
Volume 15, Issue 3 (March, 2011)

____________________________________________________________
In this issue:

1. What's New at Neuroscience for Kids
2. Neuroscience for Kids Site of the Month
3. Neuroscience for Kids Drawing Contest - Results
4. Brain Awareness Week
5. Book Reviews
6. New Translations
7. Media Alert
8. Treasure Trove of Brain Trivia
9. Support Neuroscience for Kids
10. How to Stop Your Subscription
____________________________________________________________

1. WHAT'S NEW AT NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS

Neuroscience for Kids had several new additions in February including:

A. February Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter was archived
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/news152.html
B. Did Frederic Chopin Have Epilepsy?
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/chopin.html
C. FDA Approves Imaging on Mobile Devices
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/handh.html

In February, 12 new figures were added and 35 pages were modified.
__________________________________________________________

2. NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS "SITE OF THE MONTH"

The Neuroscience for Kids "Site of the Month" for March is "The Beautiful Brain" at:

http://thebeautifulbrain.com

The Beautiful Brain calls itself an online magazine about neuroscience. The Web site focuses on the intersection between art and neuroscience and is full of typical magazine materials such as articles and photographs. You can also find podcasts and interviews with artists and scientists. My favorite part of the site is the gallery. The gallery contains a collection of photographs around a neuroscience theme. The most recent collection, "The Art of Neuroscience vol. III," concerns neurogenesis (the development of new neurons). Just click on one of the images to enlarge a photograph and read a brief description of what you see. I think that after you see these pictures that you will agree with me that the brain is beautiful!
__________________________________________________________

3. NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS DRAWING CONTEST - RESULTS

Judging of the 2011 NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS DRAWING CONTEST is finished and winners have been mailed their prizes. A total of 624 students from 30 states and six countries sent in poems. From the United States, poems arrived from Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. From outside the United States, students sent entries from Canada, Croatia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Turkey. The winning drawings are posted at:

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/contest11.html

To judge the contest, I looked at all 624 drawings and selected 10 finalists for the different grade levels (Kindergarten-grade 2; grade 3-5; grade 6-8; grade 9-12). Winners were chosen by 23 judges who rated the finalists. Check the Neuroscience for Kids web site in November for the start of a new Neuroscience for Kids Writing Contest!
__________________________________________________________

4. 2011 BRAIN AWARENESS WEEK

Brain Awareness Week (BAW) is this month! If you have an activity planned and would like to share it with Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter readers, write up a short summary and send it to me (email: chudler@u.washington.edu). I'll try to highlight your event in next month's newsletter.
__________________________________________________________

5. BOOK REVIEWS

All three of the following books are appropriate for students in grades 2-5:

"You've Got Nerve. The Secrets of the Brain and Nerves" by Melissa Stewart, New York: Marshall Cavendish, 2011, 48 pages [ISBN: 978-0-7614-4157-1].

"What Goes On In My Head?" by Robert Winston, New York: DK Publishing, 2010, 96 pages [ISBN: 978-0-7566-6885-3].

"Brain. A 21st Century Look at a 400-million-year-old Organ" by Rob DeSalle and Patricia J. Wynne, Piermont (NH): Bunker Hill Publishing, Inc., 48 pages [ISBN: 9781593730857].

As you look at the covers and flip through the pages of these books, you are sure to be attracted to the many bright and colorful illustrations and photographs. All of the books cover the basics of the nervous system, but in different ways. "You've Got Nerve" is written for younger students and discusses different aspects of the brain in 2-page sections. A glossary at the end of the book defines some of the more difficult words and terms. "What Goes On In My Head," written for older readers, is a bit busier, discussing more topics including perception, personality, reward systems and brain injury. "Brain. A 21st Century Look..." is the most unusual of the three books and is based on the exhibit currently at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. In this book, two museum mice act as guides as they take readers on a tour of the nervous system. The books all contain boxes filled with fascinating facts and trivia about the nervous system.

Although the books contain a few factual errors or mislabeled pictures, I would still recommend them to young neuroscientists interested in learning about the brain.
__________________________________________________________

6. NEW TRANSLATIONS

Neuroscience for Kids is now being translated into Belarusian and Czech! See all of the translations:

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/trans.html
_________________________________________________________

7. MEDIA ALERT

A. "The Unlocked Mind" is the cover story in the March, 2011, issue of Discover magazine with "Back from the Brink" by Kat McGowan. This articles discusses minimally conscious patients. Also in this issue of Discover magazine is "The Brain" column by Carl Zimmer that discusses the teenage brain.

B. "The Neuroscience of True Grit" by Gary Stix in the March, 2011, issue of Scientific American (the cover story) describes how the brain recovers after it is injured.

C. The new issue of Scientific American MIND (March, 2011) is on newsstands now. Inside this issue are the following articles: "Living in a Dream World: The Role of Daydreaming in Problem-Solving and Creativity," "You Are What You Like," "Ruled by the Body," "Where Are The Talking Robots?" and "Great Pretenders."

D. "Conquering the Brain" is the cover story of the March/April, 2011, issue of the Mental_Floss magazine.

E. "Understanding Pain" is the cover story of the March 7, 2011, issue of Time magazine.
_________________________________________________________

8. THE TREASURE TROVE OF BRAIN TRIVIA

A. Dolphins do not have a sense of smell; adult dolphins do not have an olfactory nerve, bulb or tract. (Source: Oelschlager, H.H.A., The dolphin brain -- challenge for synthetic neurobiology Brain Research Bulletin 75:450-459, 2008.)

B. Each eye of a honeybee is made of thousands of small lenses. The number of lenses in each eye depends on the type of bee: drone bees have 8,600 lenses, worker bees have 6,900 lenses, and queen bees have 3,000 to 4,000 lenses. (Reference: Brackney, S, Plan Bee, New York: Penguin Group, 2009.)

C. Brain Lane is a street in Wapato (WA), Brain Drive is a street in Jerome (ID) and Brain Road is a street in Kings Mountain (NC).

D. Estivation is the process by which some animals become dormant in very hot climates; it is similar to a state of hibernation but in hot climates instead of cold climates.

E. March is National Brain Injury Awareness Month.
_________________________________________________________

9. 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
_________________________________________________________

10. 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)