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Welcome to the Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter.
In this issue:
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Neuroscience for Kids had several new additions in September including:
A. September Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter was archived
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/news2209.html
B. Neuroscience in the News
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/inthenews.html
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The Neuroscience for Kids "Site of the Month" for October is the "Brain Donor Project" at:
https://braindonorproject.org/
Have you ever thought about donating your brain to science? It takes a bit more than just agreeing to be an organ donor. The Brain Donor Project answers many questions about brain donation such as who is eligible and how much does it cost (it's free to those making the donation). The site also has an online form you can complete to become a donor.
Whether you want to donate your brain to science or if you are just curious about the process, the "Brain Donor Project" will fill you mind with answers.
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Last month I traveled to Gangtok, a small city in Sikkim, India. This was my seventh trip since 2010 to teach in the Science for Monks program. Science for Monks was established to help Tibetan Buddhist monks learn about science. Because of my background in neuroscience, I was invited to teach the monks about the brain and nervous system.
After traveling for about 24 hours from Seattle, I arrived in New Delhi, India. I had reserved a stay in an airport hotel because I had about 12 hours before another flight (2 hours) to Bagdogra. I did not look forward to the 7-hour car ride to reach the city of Gangtok from Bagdogra. Gangtok is only about 72 miles from Bagdogra airport, but the road is poor and very twisty. The driver had to take a detour because the main road to Gangtok was closed because of a landslide.
But eventually, I reached Gangtok. The city is the capital of the state of Sikkim and it is quite busy and crowded. My classes were held at the Nyamgal Institute of Tibetology. My class had about 36 Tibetan Buddhist monks and six students of Tibetan Medicine. I taught two periods each day before lunch and sometimes held "office hours" in the afternoon. We covered a wide range of neuroscience topics such as the structure of the brain and neurons, the senses, memory and learning. We could not go into too much depth because of the short time, but every class had hands-on experiments or demonstrations to reinforce my lectures.
The monks had some great questions, but I am afraid they were disappointed with my answers to some of their questions. The very first questions were about the brain mechanisms of consciousness and whether consciousness could exist without the brain. I said that science is very interested in these questions but we still not know have all of the answers.
On the last day of class, we took many photos and said our goodbyes. The monks presented me with several white scarves and wished me a safe journey home. I hope the monks enjoyed learning about the brain as much as I enjoyed teaching them.
You can read more about my trip to India on my blog at:
http://neuroinindia.blogspot.com
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Get out your pencils, pens and markers! The 2019 NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS DRAWING CONTEST is now open to students in kindergarten through high school, 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/contest19.html
Here is a brief description of the drawing contest rules:
A. Drawings must be done by hand using pencils, pens, markers, and/or crayons and submitted on an official entry form (or copy of the form).
B. Entries will be divided into five categories based on age. Complete one of the following sentences and draw a picture to illustrate the sentence; if you are in:
Kindergarten to Grade 2: "My brain helps me ________________."
Grade 3 to Grade 5: "Brain Fitness: I keep my brain healthy by _________."
Grade 6 to Grade 8: "My brain is like a _________ because___________."
Grade 9 to Grade 12: "My favorite part of the brain is ________ because _____."
College students, teachers (all grades) and parents: "My favorite neuroscientist is ______ because _______."
Web sites for teacher and parent drawing ideas:
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/nobel.html
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/hist.html
SPECIAL HINT TO NEWSLETTER READERS: if you are in grade 6 to 8, do NOT draw a picture that compares the brain to a computer, a book, a sponge or a robot. These comparisons are very common and are unlikely to win. Be creative!
C. To enter the drawing contest, mail your completed entry form to the address listed on the entry form.
D. Entries must be received by February 1, 2019, and will not be returned. Winners will be announced no later than March 1, 2019.
E. Drawings will be judged by the staff of Neuroscience for Kids or by other individuals designated by Dr. Eric H. Chudler. Drawings will be judged on the basis of originality, scientific accuracy and overall design.
F. There will be several winners in each age group. Winners will be awarded a neuroscience book or other prize related to the brain.
Good luck to everyone!
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The Dana Foundation invites you to submit an original graphic design to promote 2019 Brain Awareness Week (BAW). The image will be featured on the Dana Foundation BAW sticker. Cash prizes will be awarded to the top three finalists. Sticker submissions due on October 15, 2018.
Rules and guidelines can be found at:
http://www.dana.org/BAW/StickerContest
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A. "The cognitive biases tricking your brain" by Ben Yagoda (THE ATLANTIC, September, 2018).
B. Neuroscientists use rabies to explore the brain" by Andrew J. Murray (SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, October, 2018).
C. The exhibit "The Senses: Design Beyond Vision" at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, in New York, NY, will be open for about one more month. More information about the exhibit is available at:
https://www.cooperhewitt.org/channel/senses/
D. "More brains make research possible" (NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC magazine, October, 2018).
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A. Writer Roald Dahl (born, 1916; died 1990), with the assistance from a toymaker and neurosurgeon, helped invent the Wade-Dahl-Till shunt. This device was used to treat children with hydrocephalus (Source: Buis, D.R. and Mandi, E.S., Roald Dahl's contribution to neurosurgery: the Wade-Dahl-Till shunt, Acta Neurochir (Wien), 153:429-430, 2011).
B. Mental Illness Awareness Week will take place October 7-13, 2018.
C. Sea lions can hear sounds from 100 Hz to 40,000 Hz (Source: Discover Science Almanac, New York: Hyperion, 2003).
D. Sockeye salmon can see ultraviolet light (Source: Flamarique, I.N., The ontogeny of ultraviolet sensitivity, cone disappearance and regeneration in the sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka, J. Exp. Biology 203, 1161-1172, 2000).
E. The typical number of sodium pumps on a neuron is 1000 pumps/square micron of membrane surface (Source: Willis and Grossman, Medical Neurobiology, Mosby, St. Louis, 1981).
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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)