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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. May Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter was archived
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/news2705.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. Neuroscience Jokes and Riddles
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/jokes.html
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The Neuroscience for Kids "Site of the Month" for June is "Dementia-Friendly Airports" at:
https://www.dementiafriendlyairports.com/
June is the start of the summer travel season and airports should be crowded. Airports can also be confusing for many people, especially for someone living with dementia. Now, several airports are working together to help people with dementia and those who care for people affected by dementia navigate air travel.
The Dementia-Friendly Airport web site describes how airports are helping people with dementia travel safely and comfortably. For example, the airports are making it easier for these people and their caregivers to use airport areas (bathrooms, restaurants, waiting areas), creating ways to lower stress levels, and improving directional signs around the airport. The web site also provides advice for other airports that want to create a dementia-friendly environment.
As of June 1, 2023, the web site lists 10 dementia-friendly airports. Let's hope that other airports come on-board this promising program!
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I'll be presenting (virtually) in the York Festival of Ideas program on June 8, 2023. Attendance at my talk is free but you must register. Also, be aware that the talk is scheduled for 6:00-7:00 pm British Summer Time, so if you plan to attend, make sure you convert the time properly. For more information and to register, see:
https://yorkfestivalofideas.com/2023/calendar/neuropedia/
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During the 1938 and 1939 major league baseball seasons, Hall of Fame New York Yankees player Lou Gehrig (born, 1903; died 1941) noticed that his performance on the field was lagging. During the 1939 season, Gehrig's running speed, coordination and batting power declined significantly. In June 1939, Gehrig was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neurodegenerative disorder that causes muscle weakness and problems with moving.
On June 2, 2023, Major League Baseball (MLB) will honor Lou Gehrig, celebrate Gehrig's career, and raise awareness of ALS. MLB baseball teams will have pregame ceremonies to honor people and organizations that are leading ALS research and raising awareness about ALS. Look for MLB ALS fundraising opportunities and media reports to support ALS research.
More information about Lou Gehrig, MLB Lou Gehrig Day and ALS:
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A. Prevention Guide to Aging Slower, Hearst Magazines, 2023.
B. "Has Alzheimer's met its match" and "Octopuses may have nightmares about being attacked by predators," New Scientist, May 27, 2023.
C. "Your Brain: Who's in Control" is a great NOVA video series that premiered on PBS last month. Watch the program online.
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A. The brain of a giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) weighs about 720 grams (Source: GraĆic, J.-M., et al., The brain of the giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis): Surface configuration, encephalization quotient, and analysis of the existing literature. Anat. Rec., 300:1502-1511, 2017).
B. Cleaner fish (Labroides dimidiatus) can recognize themselves in a mirror (Source: Kohda, M. et al., Cleaner fish recognize self in a mirror via self-face recognition like humans, PNAS, February 6, 2023, 120 (7) e2208420120, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2208420120).
C. Using its sense of smell, a wall lizard (Podarcis muralis) can estimate the size of a rival (Source: Scali, S., et al., The size of a smell: assessment of rival's relative size from femoral secretions in the common wall lizards, Podarcis muralis (Laurenti, 1768), Behavioral Ecology, 34:306-313, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arac128).
D. The brain of a larval fruit fly has 3016 neurons and 548,000 synapses (Source: Winding, M., et al., The connectome of an insect brain, Science. 2023 Mar 10;379(6636):eadd9330. doi: 10.1126/science.add9330).
E. Actress Emilia Clarke ("Game of Thrones") has had two brain aneurysms; one in 2011 and another in 2013 (Source: Clarke, E., A Battle for My Life, The New Yorker, March 21, 2019).
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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.