NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS NEWSLETTER
Volume 21, Issue 1 (January, 2017)

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Happy New Year from Neuroscience for Kids!

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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. Neuroscience for Kids Drawing Contest
  4. UW Brain Awareness Week Open House
  5. Summer Research Programs for Students and Teachers
  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 December including:

A. December Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter was archived
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/news2012.html

B. Neuroscience in the News
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/inthenews.html

C. Neuroscience on Stamps
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/stamps/stamps.html
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2. NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS "SITE OF THE MONTH"

The Neuroscience for Kids "Site of the Month" for January is "The Exploratorium - Mind" at:

https://www.exploratorium.edu/explore/mind

Several years ago I visited the Exploratorium when it was located in its original location at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. The museum has now moved down the road to Pier 15 on the Embarcadero. But until I have a chance to get back to San Francisco, I will have to settle for the Exploratorium web site.

Within the large Exploratorium web site is a section titled Mind where you can find interactive activities about perception, memory and the brain. Some of the activities can be done online while others require that you build them yourself. The online experiments are accompanied by simple explanations; the offline activities have step-by-step instructions and are easy to construct.

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3. NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS DRAWING CONTEST

There is one more month to enter the 2017 Neuroscience for Kids Drawing Contest. So, get out your pencils, pens and markers! The contest is open to students in kindergarten through high school as well as college students, teachers and parents. Use your imagination to draw a picture about the nervous system 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/contest17.html

Entries must be received by February 1, 2017.

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4. UW BRAIN AWARENESS WEEL OPEN HOUSE

There is still some space at the University of Washington Brain Awareness Week (BAW) on March 6, 2017. Teachers should complete an application form if they would like to bring their students to the open house; the application form is available online at:

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5. SUMMER RESEARCH EXPERIENCES FOR STUDENTS AND TEACHERS

There is still time to apply to the University of Washington Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering (CSNE) summer programs for high school students and teachers. The CSNE Young Scholars Program (YSP)-REACH is an 8-day YSP-REACH on the University of Washington Seattle campus during the summer. High school students receive an introduction to neural engineering, neuroethics, scientific communication, basic computer coding, and the latest developments in Brain-Computer Interfaces.

Middle and high school teachers can apply to the CSNE Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program where they will spend seven-weeks during the summer working on neural engineering research projects. Teachers will also develop new classroom lesson plans based on their research experiences.

Applications for these programs are available on the CSNE web site at:

http://www.csne-erc.org/education

The YSP-REACH application deadline is February 1, 2017; the RET program application deadline is March 1, 2017.

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6. MEDIA ALERT

A. The Exercise Cure is the cover article in SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MIND magazine (January 2017). This magazine also has articles about dopamine, brain development, the octopus brain and gifted children.

B. Lab Made Brains by Juergen A. Knoblich is the cover story in the January 2017 issue of SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN.

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7. THE TREASURE TROVE OF BRAIN TRIVIA

A. 11.5% of adults in the US report that they take prescription medication for problems with emotions, nerves, or mental health. (Source: Moore, T.J. and Mattison, D.R., Adult Utilization of Psychiatric Drugs and Differences by Sex, Age, and Race, JAMA Intern Med. Published online December 12, 2016. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.7507.)

B. Although Nobel Prize-winning neuroscientist David H. Hubel had never taken a biology class in high school or college, he was accepted into medical school at McGill University. (Source: Nobelprize.org; accessed December 28, 2016.)

C. The pitohui, a bird found in New Guinea, has a neurotoxin called homobatrachotoxin in its skin, feathers, muscles, heart, liver, stomach and intestines. (Source: Science Frontiers, http://www.science-frontiers.com/sf085/sf085b08.htm.)

D. This year Brain Awareness Week will be recognized on March 13-19, 2017. (Source: The Dana Foundation, http://www.dana.org/BAW/.)

E. Singer, songwriter and 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature winner Bob Dylan wrote: Every brain is civilized, Every nerve is analyzed, Everything is criticized when you are in need. (Source: Unbelievable, from the album Under the Red Sky, 1990.)

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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)