NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS NEWSLETTER
Volume 21, Issue 12 (December, 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. Neuroscience For Kids Poetry Contest
  4. UW BAW Open House - Registration Open
  5. 2017 Society for Neuroscience Meeting
  6. Summer Program for High School Students
  7. Media Alert
  8. Treasure Trove of Brain Trivia
  9. Support Neuroscience for Kids
  10. 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. October Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter was archived
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/news2111.html

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

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2. NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS "SITE OF THE MONTH"

The Neuroscience for Kids "Site of the Month" for December is "Cow's Eye Dissection" at:

http://www.exploratorium.edu/learning_studio/cow_eye/

The Exploratorium is a fantastic, hands-on, interactive science museum in San Francisco, CA. One popular exhibit at the museum is the dissection a cow eye. But if you cannot get to the museum to see this, the Exploratorium has created the Cow's Eye Dissection web site with videos, photos and instructions to show how the eye works.

The eye dissection site is divided into three sections: a) Watch Online, b) Learn More about Eyes, and c) Do Your Own Dissection. Videos in the "Watch Online" section show each step to dissecting a cow eye. If you decide to do your own dissection, you can download the instructions on the web site. The "Learn More" page provides additional experiments and information about the eye and vision.

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3. NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS POETRY CONTEST

The 2018 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/contest18.html

Entries must be received by February 1, 2018.

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4. UW BAW 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 (Seattle, WA), you are invited to an Open House on Tuesday, March 6, 2018.

The Brain Awareness Week Open House will include an interactive group assembly about the brain and hands-on exhibits that highlight different aspects of brain research. Because of the high interest in the Open House and limited space available, we must restrict the number of people who can attend. Additional information (parking instructions, etc.) will be sent to the classes that are selected to attend.

For more information about UW BAW Open House, contact Dr. Eric H. Chudler (e-mail: chudler@u.washington.edu) or visit the UW BAW web page at:

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

If you would like to attend the Open House, please complete the online application located at:

https://catalyst.uw.edu/webq/survey/chudler/341456

Those teachers and classes selected to attend the Open House will be notified no later than February 1, 2018.

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5. 2017 Society for Neuroscience Meeting

Last month I attended the 2017 Society for Neuroscience (SfN) meeting in Washington, D.C. This neuroscience meeting attracts scientists from all over the world. To get you an idea of the size of this meeting, here are some statistics:

  1. 30,021 people attended the meeting
  2. Attendees came from 80 countries
  3. 534 companies had exhibits at the meeting
  4. 13,552 abstracts were presented
  5. 902 sessions were held

Of course, it is impossible to see everything at the meeting, so attendees have to choose carefully. People usually attend lectures or visit poster presentations to learn about the most recent research in a particular field of neuroscience. It is also possible that scientists will hear about a technique or method that they can use in their own research. Regardless of what people see and hear at the SfN meeting, it is impossible to walk away without learning something new.

The next SfN meeting will be held November 3-7, 2018, in San Diego, CA.

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6. SUMMER PROGRAM FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

The Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering (CSNE) at the University of Washington (I am the executive director of the CSNE) will run a new 5-day neural engineering program for high school students next summer called YSP-REACH. The program will provide an introduction to neural engineering, neuroethics, scientific communication, basic computer coding, and the latest developments in brain-computer interfaces. Students will also tour CSNE labs in various departments of the University of Washington.

The same 2018 YSP-REACH program will be offered twice: July 16-20, 2018 and August 6-10, 2018. For more information and an application for the YSP-REACH program, see:

http://csne-erc.org/content/young-scholars-program

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7. MEDIA ALERT

A. "A Global State of Mind" by Joanne Silberner (DISCOVER magazine, December, 2017).

B. "Social Jet Lag" is the cover story in the November-December, 2017, issue of AMERICAN SCIENTIST.

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8. THE TREASURE TROVE OF BRAIN TRIVIA

A. The Hippocampus Lounge Restaurant is located in Protaras, Cyprus, and the Hippocampus Beach Resort is located in Cebu, Philippines.

B. In the United States, 1.2 million people with migraine visit emergency departments each year. (Source: Friedman, et al., Current management of migraine in US emergency departments: an analysis of the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, Cephalalgia, 35:301-309, 2015.)

C. Optogenetics is a method that uses light and genetics to control nerve cells.

D. The Dungeness crab season on the West Coast from Northern California to Canada will be delayed in December, 2017, because of high concentrations of the neurotoxin domoic acid. Domoic acid is produced by some algae and can contaminate crabs and shellfish.

E. The brain of an aardvark weighs about 72 grams.

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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
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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
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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)