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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 June including:
A. June Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter was archived
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/news2306.html
B. New Neuroscience in the News
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/inthenews.html
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The Neuroscience for Kids "Site of the Month" for July is "Science Education: National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB)" at:
https://www.nibib.nih.gov/science-educationThe National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) is one of the institutes at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Although research is the main purpose of the NIH, many of the institutes, including the NIBIB, have developed educational resources about health and science. The Science Education web site at the NIBIB is a great example of the educational materials created at the NIH.
The NIBIB web site has information about 15 different methods including several that are used in neuroscientific research. For example, computed tomography, nuclear medicine, magnetic resonance imaging, sensors, optical imaging and x-rays are all explained in easy-to-understand language. When you are finished exploring those pages, play the interactive game "Want to be a Bioengineer?" or download an app about surgery in the future or medical imaging. My favorite place on the web site is the Bionic Man. Can you identify all of the Bionic Man's technologies associated with the nervous system?
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Does your city have an electronic scooter (e-scooter) rental program? Some people love the convenience of hopping on an e-scooter for a short ride, while others want to ban them from their streets and sidewalks. Regardless of your opinion about this new mode of transportation, e-scooters are likely coming your way if they have not already arrived.
The typical e-scooter can zip along at speeds up to about 15 mph (24 kph). Although riders may enjoy moving along on these little devices, e-scooters do pose some risks. In 2019, researchers published two studies that examined e-scooter injuries. The first study looked at e-scooter injuries that occurred during a 1-year period in Los Angeles. The researchers found that 249 people were sent to emergency departments with injuries related to e-scooters: 10.8% of injured people were younger than 18 years old and only 4.4% of the injured riders wore a helmet. Head injuries (40.2%) were the most common injury followed by broken bones (31.7%) and cuts, sprains and bruises (27.7%).
The second study examined e-scooter injuries that occurred in Salt Lake City before (June 15-November 15, 2017) and after (June 15-November 15, 2018) the launch of an e-scooter program. Before the e-scooter program started, Salt Lake City emergency departments saw only 8 scooter-related injuries. After the e-scooter program started, emergency departments saw 50 scooter-related injuries. The most common injuries were minor cuts, scrapes, sprains and strains, but 4 of the 50 people (8%) sent to the emergency department had major head injuries such as a skull fracture or intracranial hemorrhage. Another 6 people (12%) had other head injuries such as concussions. None of the injured people wore a helmet at the time of their injury.
Of course, e-scooter rental companies recommend that riders wear a helmet, but it seems that few people follow this suggestion. With more and more cities opening up their roads and sidewalks to e-scooters, it is likely that hospitals will be treating more e-scooter related injuries. So, if you do ride an e-scooter, strap on a helmet to reduce your risk of becoming a statistic.
References:
Trivedi, T.K., Liu, C., Antonio, A.L.M., et al. Injuries associated with standing electric scooter use, JAMA Network Open, Published online January 25, 20192(1):e187381. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.7381
Badeau, A., Carman, C., Newman, M., et al., Emergency department visits for electric scooter-related injuries after introduction of an urban rental program, American Journal of Emergency Medicine, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajem.2019.05.003
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Join me next month at the "Intersection of EdTech and Brain Science" meeting on July 31, 2019 at 6 pm. The meeting will be held at UW CoMotion Labs, 4545 Roosevelt Way NE, Suite 300, Seattle, WA. The title of my talk is "The Promises and Perils of Neurotechnology" and I will discuss some of the potential problems raised by new technologies that interface with the nervous system. The other speakers will talk about how children learn using screens, new materials to teach neural engineering and new teaching materials that combine neuroscience and big data. The talks will be followed by a fun game of Neuro-Jeopardy!
For more information about the meeting, see:
https://www.meetup.com/EdTechSeattle/events/260270111/
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A. The July 2019 issue of SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MIND is on newsstands now with articles about the aging brain, ketamine, personality and Leonardo Da Vinci.
B. "Seeing the 'Sixth Sense'" by Robert Frederick and "On the Scent Trail of Parkinson's Disease" by Katie L. Burke in the July-August 2019 issue of AMERICAN SCIENTIST.
C. "How the Mind Arises" is the cover story of the July 2019 issue of SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN magazine.
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A. Elephants can use their sense of smell to distinguish between 150 and 180 sunflower seeds (Source: NOVA: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/elephants-smell-quantity/).
B. Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium in Appleton, WI, is the home park for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, a Class A minor league baseball team.
C. A sneeze occurs when receptors of the trigeminal nerve are irritated. During a sneeze, an estimated 40,000 particles, ranging in size from 0.5 to 5 mm, are expelled from the nose at speeds between 150 km/h and 1,045 km/h. (Source: Songu, M. and Cingi, C., Sneeze reflex: facts and fiction, Therapeutic Adv. Resp. Disease, 3:131-141, 2009.)
D. It was once believed that rabies could be cured by placing the hair of the dog that bit the person on the wound.
E. The diameter of the ear canal is 0.7 cm.
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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)