NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS NEWSLETTER
Volume 21, Issue 6 (June, 2017)

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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. Talks at Google
  4. Afire Love by Ed Sheeran
  5. Media Alert
  6. Treasure Trove of Brain Trivia
  7. Support Neuroscience for Kids
  8. 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 May including:

A. May Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter was archived
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/news2105.html

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2. NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS "SITE OF THE MONTH"

The Neuroscience for Kids "Site of the Month" for June is "NeuWrite" at:

https://www.neuwrite.org/

NeuWrite is a network of researchers and writers who are trying to bring science to the public. The program started at Columbia University, but has since expanded to sites in Boston, London, Philadelphia, Portland, Sand Diego, Palo Alto and San Francisco. Each site has a group of writers who contribute to their own blogs, Twitter posts and podcasts. Some sites are more active than others, but because there are so many writers involved, you are sure to find many interesting articles.

NeuWrite San Diego (https://neuwritesd.org/) is my current favorite NeuWrite site with its wide variety of topics and colorful graphics. Many of the NeuWrite San Diego articles have been translated into Spanish. In addition to publishing online articles, some NeuWrite sites also host public workshops and lectures. Perhaps there is one in your neighborhood.

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3. TALKS AT GOOGLE

A few weeks ago, Dr. Lise Johnson and I were invited to give a talk at Google in Kirkland, WA. I started the talk with an overview of the brain and Lise spoke about brain-computer interfaces. Then it was back to me for a discussion about the full moon and abnormal behavior. We ended the talk by taking a few questions from the audience. You can watch this entire talk online at:

https://talksat.withgoogle.com/talk/brain-bytes-quick-answers-to-quirky-questions-about-the-brain

After our talk, Lise and I were given a tour of the Google center. The Kirkland Google center includes 375,000 square feet of working space and employs more than 1,000 people. We were not allowed into the actual work area of the company, but we were able to peek through some windows to see the "googlers" busy at work.

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4. AFIRE LOVE BY ED SHEERAN

The song "Afire Love" was released by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran in 2014 on the album "x" Afire Love tells the story of Sheeran's grandfather who passed away in 2013 after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. Sheeran describes how his grandfather could no longer recognize him and others. I highly recommend that find the song and listen closely to the words. Be warned that the song is very emotional, especially if you know someone with Alzheimer's disease.

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5. MEDIA ALERT

A. "The End of Pain" by Erika Hayasaki (WIRED magazine, May, 2017).

B. "The New Science of Daydreaming" by Michael Harris (DISCOVER magazine, June 2017).

C. The Frost Science Museum in Miami (FL) opened last month with exhibits about vision and how the mind and body work together (https://www.frostscience.org/).

D. The World Science Festival 2017 takes place in New York City from May 30, 2017 to June 4, 2017 (http://www.worldsciencefestival.com/festival/world-science-festival-2017/).

E. "How Dogs Think" by Jeffrey Kluger (TIME magazine, May 22, 2017).

F. "Why We Lie" by Dan Winters (NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC magazine, June, 2017). This issue also has an interview with actress Mayim Bialik who received a Ph.D. in neuroscience from UCLA in 2007.

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6. THE TREASURE TROVE OF BRAIN TRIVIA

A. Edvard Moser, a neuroscientist who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2014, was born on an island off the west of Norway that had only 500 people.

B. An English proverb says: "Money spent on brain is never spent in vain."

C. Kaliotoxin is a toxin found in some scorpions; it blocks a neuron’s potassium channels.

D. Approximately 300,000 people are infected by Lyme disease in the United States each year. (Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; https://www.cdc.gov/features/lymedisease/index.html)

E. Complete heterochromia occurs when people (and other animals) have eyes with two different colors.

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7. 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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8. 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)