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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 October including:
A. October Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter was archived
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/news2510.html
B. New Neuroscience in the News
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/inthenews.html
C. Visit or follow my Instagram site with neuroscience facts and trivia:
https://www.instagram.com/ericchudler/
D. 2021-2022 Neuroscience for Kids Drawing Contest
https://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/contest22.html
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The Neuroscience for Kids "Site of the Month" for November is "Pathways" at:
https://www.scholastic.com/pathways/index.html
Scholastic publishers and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (National Institutes of Health) have teamed up to create "Pathways," a collection of magazines, lessons, activities, and videos about various science topics. The current issue of Pathways is titled "The Brain & Anesthesia"; past issues have covered Microscopes & Cells, Superbugs, Circadian Rhythms, Regeneration and Basic Science. I look forward to their upcoming issue that will explore consciousness and sleep.
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Last month, neuroscientists David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian were awarded the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for their discoveries of receptors for temperature and touch." Read more about the award at:
https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2021/press-release/
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The 2021-2022 Neuroscience for Kids Poetry Contest is now open! Use your imagination to create a poem about the brain. For complete rules and an entry form, go to:
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/contest22.html
Entries must be received by February 1, 2022.
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Applications for some summer research programs are now available. Here are two University of Washington (Seattle, WA) programs: one for high school students and one for undergraduate students.
High school students: apply to the University of Washington Neurological Surgery Summer Student Program for "Bench to Bedside" exposure in neuroscience. This is an 8-week program that includes lab work, attending Neurological Surgery Grand Rounds, observations in the operating room, faculty talks and final presentations of the work. Students receive a stipend of $2,667. For more information and an application to this program, see:
https://neurosurgery.uw.edu/education/summer-student-programs
Undergraduate students: I run the University of Washington (UW) Center for Neurotechnology (CNT) Research Experience for Undergraduates Program. This is a 10-week program for current undergraduate students from all over the United States. Students live in Seattle on the UW campus and work in research labs associated with the CNT, attend my scientific communications class, go on field trips and present their work at an end-of-summer research symposium. Travel and housing are all paid by the program and students also receive a $5,500 stipend. For more information and an application to this program, see:
https://centerforneurotech.uw.edu/content/research-experience-undergraduates
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In 1932, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti published a book titled "The Futurist Cookbook." The book is full of strange recipes and unusual dining ideas such as adding perfume to food, using poetry and music to enhance flavor, and matching plates and glasses with the flavors and colors of the food. Marinetti likely wrote the book to highlight the importance of art to everyday life, not as a traditional cookbook.
"The Futurist Cookbook" got me thinking about some fun ways to play with food and to highlight color and the senses while eating. How about a dinner with foods that all have the same color? Here are some meal ideas that focus on specific colors:
Red -- Salad: Tomatoes with red peppers; Soup: Tomato soup or gazpacho; Main course: Spaghetti with tomato sauce; Dessert: strawberries, watermelon, red cherries or red grapes.
Orange -- Salad: Carrots with orange peppers; Main course: Salmon with sweet potatoes or yams; Dessert: orange slices, cantaloupe, peaches, apricots or pumpkin pie.
Yellow -- Salad: Yellow peppers with corn; Soup: Yellow lentil soup; Main course: Eggs and yellow potatoes; Dessert: Pineapple.
Blue/Purple -- Salad: Purple cabbage cole slaw with raisins; Main course: Blue corn tortilla shell tacos; Dessert: blueberries, plums, purple grapes.
Green -- Salad: Mixed greens with lettuce, kale, spinach, broccoli; Soup: Green pea soup; Main course: Pesto noodles with side of asparagus; Dessert: Sliced kiwi fruit.
Instead of a monochrome meal, maybe you like noisy food such as potato chips, tortilla chips, popcorn, crackers and pretzels or loud crunchy celery and carrot sticks that snap when you bite them.
For more information about The Futurist Cookbook, see:
https://www.finedininglovers.com/article/dining-marinetti-manifesto-futurist-cuisine
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A. "Is Your Brain Wired for Numbers?," THE SCIENTIST, October, 2021.
B. "Why Sports Concussions Are Worse For Women," SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN HEALTH & MEDICINE, October, 2021.
C. The Fall 2021 issue of CEREBRUM from the Dana Foundation is now available at: https://dana.org/explore-neuroscience/cerebrum/
D. "Bird Brain Evolution" and "Insect Decision-Making," AMERICAN SCIENTIST, November-December, 2021.
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A. Julius Axelrod (1912 - 2004), who won the 1970 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, did not receive his Ph.D. until he was 42 years old (Source: The History of Neuroscience in Autobiography, Vol., 1, edited by Larry R. Squire, Washington, D.C.: Society for Neuroscience, 1996).
B. Phineas Gage is the name of a railroad worker and famous patient who suffered a brain injury in 1848 and also the name of a clothing store in West Chester, PA.
C. Have a warm drink and a pastry at the Magic Brain Café in Cape May, NJ.
D. Bonnethead sharks (Sphyrna tiburo) use the Earth's magnetic field for navigation (Source: Keller, B.A., et al., Map-like use of Earth's magnetic field in sharks, Cell Biology, 31:2881-2886, 2021).
E. Honey bees can keep track of time by monitoring the temperature of their hive (Source: Giannoni-Guzmán, M.A., et al., The role of colony temperature in the entrainment of circadian rhythms of honey bee foragers, Annals of the Entomol. Soc. America, 114: 596-605, 2021).
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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.