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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/news2906.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/
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The Neuroscience for Kids "Site of the Month" for July is the Cleveland Clinic "6 Ways To Improve Your Brain Health" at:
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/brain-health
Everyone wants to keep their brain in the best shape possible. So, what are the best ways to treat your brain? The Cleveland Clinic describes six things you can do to help your brain stay in excellent condition: A) Get moving; B) Seek out mental challenges; C) Eat smartly; D) Be social; E) Get enough sleep and F) Take control of your health. These ideas are described briefly with links to additional information including some to the original research that supports the suggestion. Although it may seem like the ideas are intended for older adults, it is never too early think about your brain health.
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Last month I spent some time at the Allen Institute (Seattle, WA) learning about their education programs. The Allen Institute is devoted to providing open science data (such as the Allen Brain Map) for researchers, teachers and students. In addition to offering many online resources and data sets, the Allen Institute hosts field trips for high school and undergraduate students. During a field trip, attendees can see research labs, discuss careers with a panel of scientists and work with hands-on experiments in the new Allen Institute Education Lab.
For details about Allen Institute education programs, watch this short YouTube video (and yes, that's me in the video with a few comments): https://youtu.be/uDnCFnzDLec?si=P3DVIOf4rYBbv0zp
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As I am preparing for a bit of air travel this summer, I have been curious about what strange things have been found aboard commercial airlines. I found several news articles about snakes, spiders and scorpions that have found their way aboard accidentally. Perhaps these creatures slither and crawl their way on to a plane looking for a place too cool off. It is also possible that "extra passengers" make their way into passengers' luggage that is then brought onboard. Occasional news stories about snakes, spiders and scorpions found on planes frighten the flying public.
Then there are the criminals who try to smuggle animals by hiding them. Just last month, a man traveling from Thailand was arrested in Mumbai, India, for trying to smuggle dozens of venomous Indonesian pit vipers and three spider-tailed horned vipers. About two years ago, someone else tried to smuggle more than 100 live snakes into China by hiding them in his pants.
I don't know about you, but snakes, scorpions and spiders are just not something that worries me when I travel by air. Instead, when I fly, I sit back and try to enjoy the journey.
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A. "Systematizing Scents" (AMERICAN SCIENTIST, July/August 2025).
B. "How AI Models Are Helping to Understand - and Control - the Brain" (QUANTA MAGAZINE, June 16, 2025).
C. "A Serendipitous Shadow Brought the Brain's Visual Pathways to Light" (THE SCIENTIST, June, 2025).
D. "The Secret to Animal Consciousness" (SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, June 2025).
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A. Singer/songwriter Billy Joel has canceled his future concerts due to hearing, vision and balance problems caused by normal pressure hydrocephalus.
B. The book On Injuries of the Head, written by Hippocrates (and perhaps other authors), was one of the earliest texts about neurosurgery.
C. Bogong moths (Agrotis infusa) use the stars of the night sky to migrate hundreds of kilometers (Source: Dreyer, D. et al., Bogong moths use a stellar compass for long-distance navigation at night. Nature, 2025, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09135-3).
D. Pioneering neurosurgeon Harvey Cushing (1869-1939) die of a heart attack and an autopsy revealed that he had a colloid cyst in the third ventricle of his brain (Source: Doyle, N.M. et al., The life and work of Harvey Cushing 1869-1939: A pioneer of neurosurgery. J. Intensive Care Soc. 18:157-158, 2017).
E. The vein of Galen, also known as the great cerebral vein, is named after Greek physician Galen (129-216 CE) who first described it.
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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.