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Happy New Year from Neuroscience for Kids!
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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 December including:
A. December Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter was archived
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/news2712.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. The Nervous System from A to Z (now with new illustrations!)
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/pdf/az.pdf
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The Neuroscience for Kids "Site of the Month" for January is the Brain Explorer Game" at:
https://www.ninds.nih.gov/health-information/public-education/brain-explorer-game/
The Brain Explorer Game is one of several brain educational resources created by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. When you enter the game, you will be asked to pick a question about how we talk, remember, see, decide or find our way in the world. When you pick a question, a new page will open that describes a real experiment that answers the question. Each experiment has images or videos to explain the methods and results. If you want more details about a particular experiment, you can find the original publication referenced at the end of each page.
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The 2024 Neuroscience for Kids Poetry Contest is accepting entries for one more month. Use your imagination to create a poem about the brain. For complete rules and an entry form, go to:
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/contest24.html
Entries must be received by February 1, 2024.
Good luck to everyone!
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Brain Awareness Week (BAW) is a nationwide effort organized by the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives and the Society for Neuroscience to promote the public and personal benefits of brain research. The official week for the next BAW is March 11-17, 2024, but any week is a good time to get involved.
When I take a walk around my neighborhood, I often see rocks painted with pictures of trees, flowers, stars or inspirational sayings. This got me thinking. Could this rock art be used to promote Brain Awareness Week? I think the answer is "yes!"
So, let's call this program "The Brain Rocks." To participate, all you have to do is find a rock and paint it with a brain or a neuron. It would be great if you could add a few words such as "BAW 2024" or "Brain Awareness Week." Then put your brain rock outside and take a photo of it. Please do not include any people in your photos; just your brain rocks.
Upload your photo by clicking on the small + in the circle in the lower right side of the following web site:
https://padlet.com/chudler/the-brain-rocks-nyoasc2tfaiopl5z
I look forward to seeing your creation!
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International Brain Awareness Week (BAW) will take place this March. This year for 2024BAW, the University of Washington has arranged a Speakers Bureau with neuroscientists interested to share their passion for brain research with others. Presenters in the Speakers Bureau will be matched with teachers for virtual or in-person classroom presentations.
Here is the way the Speakers Bureau works:
A. Teachers visit the Speakers Bureau web site: http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/bawspeakers24.html
B. Teachers complete the online application form available on the Speakers Bureau web site.
C. I connect teachers with a potential speaker. Speakers are responsible for developing their own presentations, but I'll help them if they need it.
D. Arrangements (e.g., date, time, virtual/in-person, location) are made between the presenter and teacher.
If there is a high demand for speakers, I may not be able to match all teachers/classes with a presenter, but I'll try my best. Please let me know if you have any questions about the UW BAW Speakers Bureau.
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For the past several years, I have directed a summer program for high school students interested in neurotechnology and neuroscience. I will continue this program in 2024 and if you are a high school student, I encourage you to apply to the Young Scholars Program-REACH at the Center for Neurotechnology (University of Washington, Seattle, WA). The program will take place in-person and virtually July 15-19, 2024.
During the YSP-REACH program, students will receive an introduction to neuroscience and neural engineering, neuroethics, and the latest developments in brain-computer interfaces. The program is well suited for students interested in a science, math, technology and engineering, with a specific interest in neural engineering and neuroscience.
The application deadline for summer 2024 YSP-REACH program is March 15, 2024. For more information and an application form, see:
https://centerforneurotech.uw.edu/content/young-scholars-program
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In the December 2023 issue of the Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter you read about the green mamba snake that escaped from its enclosure in Tilburg (Netherlands). This month brings another story about a dangerous, neurotoxic encounter with nature. Last month an 18-year-old man was at a Perth (Australia) beach collecting seashells and putting them in his pocket. When he pulled a shell out of his pocket to examine it, he saw a blue-ringed octopus (genus Hapalochlaena) emerge. Soon after he noticed a small bite on his leg that he assumed was caused by the octopus.
The man was taken by emergency services to a hospital where he was treated for more than six hours. The venom in the blue-ringed octopus is a neurotoxin called “tetrodotoxin.” Tetrodotoxin acts by blocking sodium channels on neurons and prevents the generation of action potentials. A person bitten by a blue-ringed octopus may experience numbness, nausea, pain, paralysis, and respiratory failure. There is no antidote for tetrodotoxin; instead, patients are given life-supporting treatment (e.g., assistance with breathing) until the tetrodotoxin is excreted in urine. Without this treatment, a bite from a blue-ringed octopus can be fatal in 30 minutes.
References:
Kotipoyina, H.R., et al., Tetrodotoxin Toxicity. [Updated 8/8/23]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2023 Jan-. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK507714/
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A. "The Science of Living Your Best Life" is the cover story of the December 2023 special edition of SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN.
B. "How People Decide to Trust in Science" (AMERICAN SCIENTIST magazine, January-February 2024).
C. "In Their Dreams" (about dreaming in animals) (NEW SCIENTIST, December 16-23, 2023).
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A. Eating strawberries may reduce the risk of dementia for middle-aged people (Source: Krikorian, R., Early intervention in cognitive aging with strawberry supplementation, Nutrients, 2023; 15 (20): 4431 DOI: 10.3390/nu15204431).
B. Chinstrap penguins (Pygoscelis antarcticus) take about 10,000 very short naps of around 4 seconds each day (Source: Libourel, P-A. et al., Nesting chinstrap penguins accrue large quantities of sleep through seconds-long microsleeps, Science, 382:1026-1031(2023). DOI:10.1126/science.adh0771).
C. The 2023 Collins Dictionary word of the year is "AI."
D. There are approximately 49,940 neurosurgeons in the world (Source: Mukhopadhyay, S., et al., The global neurosurgical workforce: a mixed-methods assessment of density and growth, J Neurosurg., 130:1142-1148, 2019).
E. Approximately 1 in 4,000 people are born with a partially or completely missing corpus callosum. The corpus callosum is the large nerve fiber tract that connects the left and right hemispheres of the brain (Source: NINDS, https://www.ninds.nih.gov/health-information/disorders/agenesis-corpus-callosum).
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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.