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Welcome to the Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter.
Here is what you will find in this issue:
1. What's New on the Neuroscience for Kids Web Site
2. Neuroscience for Kids Site of the Month
3. Brain Awareness Week 2004
4. First Graders Participate in Neuroscience for Kids Poetry Contest
5. American Academy of Pediatrics Drawing Contest
6. NeuroYork Times?
7. Book Review
8. Media Alert
9. Treasure Trove of Brain Trivia
10. Support Neuroscience for Kids
11. How to Stop Your Subscription
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A. March Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter was archived
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/news83.html
B. May and June 2004 Neurocalendars
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/pdf/may04.pdf
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/pdf/june04.pdf
C. Time Estimation Experiment
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/java/esttime.html
D. Does Migraine Cause Brain Damage?
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/progmig.html
E. Nicotine, Secondhand Smoke and Infants
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/shs.html
F. UW Brain Awareness Week Open House
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/baw04oh.html
G. Sam's Brainy Adventure (an on-line comic strip)
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/flash/comic.html
In March, 68 new figures were added and 26 pages were modified.
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http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org [link no longer working]
Science News for Kids delivers science articles written for children between the ages of 9 and 13. The web site is published by "Science Service," the same company that publishes the weekly science newsmagazine "Science News."
Start your exploration of Science News for Kids by reading some stories in
the article archives. The "Behavior" and "Human Body" sections of the
archives contain several brain-related stories. For example, "Reading
Verbs Revs Up Your Brain" and "Walking to Exercise the Brain" were both
featured in February 2004. If you get tired of reading, click over to
the PuzzleZone, GameZone or LabZone to solve a problem, play a game or do
an experiment. The SciFairZone has suggestions and ideas for science fair
projects and the TeacherZone has resource materials for teachers and
parents.
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On March 24, BAW was celebrated at the University of Washington. Approximately 300 students from local schools attended the University of Washington BAW Open House. After a "Brain Assembly," the students worked with hands-on exhibits set up by researchers, clinicians and staff of laboratories and patient support groups. You can read about the Open House and see some pictures of the exhibits at:
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/baw04oh.html
I hope you were able to participate in this year's BAW. If you would like
to let others know how you celebrated BAW, send me (e-mail: chudler@u.washington.edu) a brief
description of your event and I will try to publish it in next month's
Neuroscience for Kids newsletter.
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You must enter your artwork by June 1, 2004.
Perhaps your drawing can be about the brain. Good luck!
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The New York Times is a great source for news -- but did you know that it also boasts fantastic science writers? Every Tuesday the Science and Health sections highlight scientific and medical advances. Every week, I check in to see what's happening around the world in these fields. How common are neuroscience stories?
In the February 17, 2004, issue, there were 29 articles featured. Out of these 20 articles, 10 were related to neuroscience. From mad cow disease to the FDA banning ephedra to cloning to bipolar disorder to sleep, The New York Times has neuroscience covered, reflecting its importance in the world today.
You can find these stories at http://www.nytimes.com (a free registration
is required). I'll bet that your local newspaper also carries
neuroscience news. Check it out!
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Your senses never stop working. They bring information to your brain to tell you about the outside world. Author Harriet Ziefert gives each sense (smell, touch, hearing, vision and taste) its own chapter in her book "You Can't Taste a Pickle With Your Ear." Each chapter starts with a list of facts about a sense. This list is followed by funny poems, such as this one about smell:
"My nose knows
When Spot walks by,
If his fur is
Wet or dry."
Each chapter ends with a list of questions that can be used to start discussions. Every page of the book is filled with colorful illustrations by Amanda Haley.
The book should hold the interest of young readers, but a few scientific errors should be noted. First, Ziefert shows a picture of a "tongue map." She states, "There are groups of taste buds on different parts of the tongue" and shows a picture of the tongue labeled with sweet, sour, salty and bitter. Although many books show this tongue map, it is incorrect and not based on scientific fact. Taste buds that respond to all basic tastes can be found on all areas of the tongue. Second, Ziefert gives receptors in the skin too much credit. She states, "Receptors tell you when someone presses hard, or gently, on your feet." Actually, receptors in skin respond to hard or gentle pressure, but they don't tell anything about what caused the response. It is the brain that interprets the information sent by receptors.
Ziefert's book is a good choice for those who want a brief introduction to the senses. Older students who want more details about the senses might prefer "The Magic School Bus Explores the Senses" by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen.
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B. "Do Vaccines Cause Autism?" by Alice Park in Time magazine (March 15, 2004).
C. "Don't Forget" premiers on your local PBS station on May 11, 2004; host Alan Alda explores where and what is memory.
D. "Just Too Loud" by Jeffery Kluger in Time magazine (April 5, 2004) discusses the harm caused by loud noises.
E. "Thinking Faster" by Steven Johnson describes neurologist Antonio
Damasio's research (Discover magazine, May 2004, pages 45-49).
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B. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that 500,000 people in the United States exhibit symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome. (Source: CDC.)
C. Forty years ago, 42% of adults in the US smoked. Today, approximately 23% do. Surveys report that 70% of smokers want to quit. (Source: "Stub Out that Butt!" in Time, January 19, 2004.)
D. In 2002, almost 11 million prescriptions for SSRIs (a type of antidepressants) were written for patients under the age of 18 years (Sources: US FDA and "Antidepressant warnings urged," by Lauran Neergaard, Seattle Times, February 3, 2004.)
E. An octopus has twice as many nerves in its body than it has in its
brain. (Source:
http://www.cephbase.utmb.edu/.)
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http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/pdf/help.pdf
or
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/helpform.html
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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.
(e-mail: chudler@u.washington.edu)
(URL:
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/neurok.html)
"Neuroscience for Kids" is supported by a Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) from the National Center of Research Resources.