____________________________________________________________
Welcome to the Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter.
In this issue:
____________________________________________________________
Neuroscience for Kids had several new additions in April including:
A. April Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter was archived
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/news2804.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. Visual Illusions - Explained
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/viexp.html
__________________________________________________________
The Neuroscience for Kids "Site of the Month" for May is "From Our Neurons to Yours" at:
https://neuroscience.stanford.edu/news/podcast
If you are like me, you have trouble reading when you are in a car or on a bus or train. There is something about reading in a moving vehicle that makes me dizzy and a bit nauseous. It’s a good thing that there is another way to catch up on neuroscience news and research: a podcast!
This month's Site of the Month, "From Our Neurons to Yours," is a podcast created by the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford University. Most of the podcasts are 20-25 minutes in length and feature interviews with researchers and clinicians talking about their work. The most recent segment is a discussion with neuroeconomist Nik Sawe about how long-term thinking is difficult for the brain. Older segments cover topics about neurological diseases, neurotechnology and neuropharmacology.
There is even one podcast about why we get dizzy! Now I have a good idea why I get dizzy when I read in a moving car.
__________________________________________________________
The International Neuroethics Society and the International Youth Neuroscience Association are sponsoring a Neuroethics Essay Contest for high school students, secondary school students, post-secondary student, and postdoctoral fellows. Essays can cover any field of neuroethics where neuroscience intersects with society (for example, law, medicine, philosophy and psychology). Winners will receive cash prizes. The deadline for submissions is July 5, 2024, 11:30 p.m. EDT. More details and the submission entry portal:
https://neuroethicsessaycontest.com/call/
__________________________________________________________
The Allen Institute is holding the 2024 Open Science Sticker Contest for people ages 5-14 years old. Stickers should be designed around the theme "Celebrating Team Science: the power of collaboration and sharing in science." The winner of the contest will receive a set of stickers featuring the winning design and Allen Institute promotional items. Submit your sticker design by June 15, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. PST. More details and the submission entry portal:
https://alleninstitute.org/events/open-science-sticker-contest-24/
__________________________________________________________
Enter a video to highlight neuroscience in the Society for Neuroscience (SfN) annual Brain Awareness Video Contest. Videos should not be longer than 5 minutes. If you are not a member of the SfN, you must find a SfN member to sponsor your submission (use the SfN "Find a Neuroscientist" database). There are some big prizes for the winners:
Entries must be submitted by May 29, 2024, 11:59 pm, PST. Contest rules and guidelines:
https://www.brainfacts.org/for-educators/programs-and-events/brain-awareness-video-contest
__________________________________________________________
With a generous grant from the Dana Foundation, I have established the Brain Health Learning Network at the University of Washington. With a new lecture series, this new program was created to help older adults become more knowledgeable about the brain and brain health. I also hope that people who participate in Brain Health Learning Network activities feel more confident when they talk to their families and healthcare providers about brain health. All program activities are free and the lectures will be recorded and available online at:
https://www.osher.uw.edu/brain-health
__________________________________________________________
Applications are now open for high school STEM teachers for the new Allen Institute Fellows Program. Teachers will collaborate with Allen Institute scientists to co-create, pilot, and publish novel neuroscience lessons for high school students that will be shared as part of the Allen Institute free and open educator resource library. The year-long fellowship takes place in-person in Seattle on August 12-13, 2024 and includes four Zoom check-ins throughout the school year. Participants will receive a $1,500 stipend, travel reimbursement, and up to 20 STEM clock hours when all of the program requirements are completed. For more details, see:
https://alleninstitute.org/events/allen-institute-teacher-fellows/
__________________________________________________________
A. "Secrets of the Octopus" is the cover story of the May, 2024, issue NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC magazine.
B. "Quiet! Our Loud World Is Making Us Sick" (SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, May, 2024).
_________________________________________________________
A. William Shakespeare (in Act V, Scene 1 of the play "Macbeth") describes a scene of sleepwalking.
B. Short (5 min.) exercise breaks during lectures improve college students’ attention, motivation, engagement and course enjoyment; still unknown is if such breaks improve student learning and grades (Source: Hayes, S.M., Establishing the feasibility of exercise breaks during university lectures, Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 2024; 6 DOI: 10.3389/fspor.2024.1358564).
C. The pupils of the eye widen (dilate) when people concentrate (Source: Robison, M.K. and Garner, L.D., Pupillary correlates of individual differences in n-back task performance. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 2024; DOI: 10.3758/s13414-024-02853-2).
D. The human retina has an area of about 1,094 square mm (Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK11556/).
E. "Mental power cannot be got from ill-fed brains" (a quote by Herbert Spencer in his book, Principles of Ethics, 1898).
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
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
_________________________________________________________
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.