NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS NEWSLETTER
Volume 17, Issue 10 (October, 2013)

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Welcome to the Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter.

In this issue:

1. What's New at Neuroscience for Kids
2. Neuroscience for Kids Site of the Month
3. Sowing the Seeds of Neuroscience Lessons
4. Brainy Ideas for Halloween
5. Brain Awareness Video Winners 6. Media Alert
7. Treasure Trove of Brain Trivia
8. Support Neuroscience for Kids
9. 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 September including:

A. September Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter was archived
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/news179.html

B. Roar - But Cover Your Ears!
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/roar.html

C. Navy Sonar versus Marine Mammals
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/marinem.html

In September, 6 new figures were added and 23 pages were modified.
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2. NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS "SITE OF THE MONTH"

The Neuroscience for Kids "Site of the Month" for October is the "Anatomy & Physiology (Open + Free)" at:

http://oli.cmu.edu/courses/free-open/anatomy-physiology/

Carnegie Mellon University, through its Open Learning Initiative, have made an online Anatomy/Physiology course freely available to anyone with an Internet connection. The course covers all body systems, but for this "Site of the Month" selection, only the unit about the nervous system will be discussed.

You do not have to register to enter the course. To go directly to the nervous system material, scroll all the way down to Unit 14: Nervous System. This unit has four modules that take you through the structure and function of the human nervous system. The site is easy to navigate and there are plenty of figures that illustrate the pages. Most pages have matching games or questions to check your understanding of the material.
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3. SOWING THE SEEDS OF NEUROSCIENCE LESSONS

Finally! The Sowing the Seeds of Neuroscience lessons are ready and available for downloading. The Sowing the Seeds of Neuroscience project is a partnership between neuroscience researchers, teachers and students. We are developing and testing new hands-on laboratory activities for middle school students about neuroscience and medicinal plants and the lessons are now ready to share with everyone. These materials are available at:

http://www.neuroseeds.org/About-Neuroseeds/Lessons
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4. BRAINY IDEAS FOR HALLOWEEN

Just in time for Halloween: Martha Stewart has a recipe for Brain Cupcakes. Don't worry! The cupcakes are made with chocolate and Swiss meringue buttercream. See:

http://www.marthastewart.com/344179/brain-cupcakes

Also, don't forget your brain jello or your neuroscience costume:

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/chmodel.html
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5. BRAIN AWARENESS VIDEO WINNERS

Last month, the Society for Neuroscience (SfN) announced the winners of the SfN Brain Awareness Video Contest. The top prize of $1,000 and a trip to San Diego for the 2013 SfN Annual meeting went to Travis Grenier for his video titled "Congenital Anosmia."

There were two second place winners taking home $375 prizes: Xavier Vanils and Africa Flores for their video "Sketch of a Memory" and Vania Cao for her video "Population Coding: Mind Reading and More." The best high school video was awarded to Yash Patel, Michelle Goffreda, Robby Vasen, and Kat Lin of High Technology High School in Lincroft, NJ for their entry "Neuroglia & the Brain."

See all winning videos at:

http://www.brainfacts.org/educators/get-involved/articles-folder/2013/2013-bavc-results/

You can also vote until October 16 for your favorite Brain Awareness Video in the "People's Choice" category at:

http://BrainFacts.org/BAVC
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6. MEDIA ALERT

A. "How to Build a Robot Octopus" by Katherine Harmon Courage and "Help for the Child with Autism" by Nicholas Lange and Christopher J. McDougle in the October, 2013, issue of SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN.

B. Smithsonian Teachers' Night 2013 (October 25, 2013) at the National Museum of National History, Washington, DC. Free!

C. Visit "The Mind: Enter the Labyrinth" exhibit at the Melbourne Museum in Victoria, Australia.

D. "Rethinking Autism" by Temple Grandin and Richard Panek (TIME magazine, October 7, 2013).
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7. THE TREASURE TROVE OF BRAIN TRIVIA

A. The electric ghost knifefish, Apteronotus albifrons, has sensors all over its body that detect electrical fields of prey and predators.

B. Brainea insignis is a plant (fern) native to Thailand, Indonesia, West Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and southern China.

C. David Hunter Hubel, neuroscientist and winner of the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine, died last month on September 22, 2013.

D. The last words of writer Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888) were: "Is it not meningitis?" Louisa May Alcott was best known for her novel titled "Little Women."

E. October 10, 2013 is World Mental Health Day.
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8. 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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9. 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)