NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS NEWSLETTER
Volume 10, Issue 7 (July, 2006)

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Welcome to the Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter.

Here is what you will find in this issue:

1. What's New at Neuroscience for Kids
2. Neuroscience for Kids Site of the Month
3. Web Site Redesigned
4. BrainWorks TV Show
5. Workers Chip In for Brain Scan
6. New NIH Supplements for Middle School Science
7. Media Alert
8. Treasure Trove of Brain Trivia
9. Support Neuroscience for Kids
10. How to Stop Your Subscription
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1. WHAT'S NEW AT NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS

Neuroscience for Kids had several new additions in June including:

A. June Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter was archived
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/news106.html
B. Chinese Frogs Communicate With Ultrasonic Calls
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/frogc.html

In June, 24 new figures were added and 6 pages were modified. The web site is being redesigned.
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2. NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS "SITE OF THE MONTH"

The Neuroscience for Kids "Site of the Month" for July is "Mind Hacks" at:

http://www.mindhacks.com/

"Mind Hacks" is the first blog selected as a Neuroscience for Kids Site of the Month. Tom Stafford and Matt Webb published the book "Mind Hacks" in 2004 and have created a blog of the same name with extra information about neuroscience and psychology. The blog is updated often with interesting and unusual stories about the brain and always link to sites where you can learn more. The authors also include entries about science and art museum exhibits, brief reviews of new papers and articles about current events.
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3. WEB SITE REDESIGNED

The basic design of the Neuroscience for Kids web site has remained the same for almost 10 years. It's time for a change. With the volunteer help of web designer Willy de Bhuinn, the Neuroscience for Kids is being redesigned.

Only the first level links (the ones on the left side of the page) work, but this will give you an idea of the planned changes. All of the material on the original web site would be converted to this new look. Do you like this new design? Let me know by sending me email (chudler@u.washington.edu).

I asked Willy about himself and why he wanted to help Neuroscience for Kids:

"My name is Willy and although I am from Dublin, Ireland, I now live in Modena, Italy. I am a web developer specializing in usability and accessibility.

I have been an admirer of the Neuroscience For Kids web site and the work of Dr. Chudler for many years, going back to when I was home schooling my two kids. My kids are now independent teenagers but the memory of them creating projects with the information from the Neuroscience for Kids web site is still vivid. I still use Neuroscience for Kids as a source of information, a valuable free resource.

It has been a great pleasure for me working with Dr. Chudler in the redesign of the Neuroscience For Kids web site. I wish you all a pleasant user-experience each time you visit the site."


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4. BRAINWORKS TV SHOW

For the past six months, I have been working on a TV show for kids interested in learning about the brain. The show is called "BrainWorks" and it will be on TV (UWTV channel) in July! Here is a description of the program from the UWTV web site:

"With the help of five kids, host Eric Chudler takes viewers on a journey inside of the brain. The show begins in the studio with an introduction to the nervous system. The kids then visit laboratories where they learn about automatic functions of the brain and how the electrical activity of the brain is recorded. Back in the studio, the kids see a real human brain and build their own model nerve cells and brains."
,p> The program will air on the University of Washington TV (UWTV) channel (in Seattle) on:

Tuesday, July 4 at 6:30pm
Wednesday, July 5 at 9am and noon
Monday, July 10 at 6:30pm
Tuesday, July 11 at 9am
Wednesday, July 12 at noon
Sunday, July 16 at 12:30pm and 5:30pm

Of course, if you don't get UWTV, you can't watch the show on TV. However, you can watch the show online at: http://uwtv.org/series/17393529/watch/16205591/ Let me know what you think of the show!
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5. WORKERS CHIP IN FOR BRAIN SCAN

Gary Harris, a delivery driver in Bristol, England, had been having severe headaches, dizziness and vomiting for several weeks. Gary's doctors, however, could not find anything seriously wrong with him. As a precaution, the doctors scheduled a brain scan to take place in 11 weeks.

When Gary's co-workers found out that the wait for the brain scan was so long, they took up a collection so Gary could have the scan done in a private facility. Each employee from Park Furnishers contributed ?12 for a total of ?720 so Gary could have his scan earlier.

On April 27, Gary had his brain scan. And it was a good thing! Doctors discovered a large tumor near his brain stem. If he did not have surgery soon, the tumor could kill him in two weeks. One day after the brain scan, Gary was admitted to Frenchay Hospital for tests and preliminary procedures. This was followed a week later with 13 hours of surgery to remove the tumor. Gary was discharged from the hospital on May 17 and his outlook for recovery is good.

Gary's co-workers are the real heroes in this story. They joined together to help a friend in need and saved Gary's life.

References:

Richard, J., "?12 whip-round at factory saves worker from death," Times Online, June 6, 2006.

"?700 whipround saved workmate's life," Daily Mail, June 5, 2006.

"Whip-round saves workmate's life," BBC News, June 5, 2006.
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6. NEW SUPPLEMENTS FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE

The National Institutes of Health has released the following three new supplements for middle school science classes:

A. "Doing Science: The Process of Scientific Inquiry"

B. "Looking Good, Feeling Good: From the Inside Out (Exploring Bone, Muscle, and Skin)"

C. "The Science of Mental Illness"

Visit the NIH Office of Science Education web site to use the supplements online or to request copies of the material:

http://science.education.nih.gov/supplements
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7. MEDIA ALERT

A. The latest issue of Scientific American Mind, "The Science of Burnout" has been published. This issue includes articles about stress, autism, epilepsy and new treatments for neurological illnesses.

B. The Summer 2006 issue of Life Science Education is devoted to papers about the teaching of neuroscience. This journal is available online at:

http://www.lifescied.org

C. The May/June 2006 issue of Neurology Now is available with articles about brain mapping, the placebo effect, Alzheimer's disease and narcolepsy. Neurology Now is a free publication from the American Academy of Neurology:

http://www.neurologynow.com

D. "Stereo Sue," by Oliver Sacks (The New Yorker, June 19, 2006, pp. 64-73) discusses the benefits of having two eyes rather than one.

E. Scientific American has published a special edition titled "Becoming Human" with a few neuroscience-related articles including "Why Are Some Animals So Smart?," "How We Came to Be Human," and "The Emergence of Intelligence."

F. "What Birds See" by Timothy H. Goldsmith (Scientific American, July 2006) discusses the visual abilities of birds.

G. Museum exhibits:

i. "Risk" at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History (Fort Worth, TX).

ii. "Bodies" at the Museum of Science and Industry (Tampa, FL).

iii. "Chocolate: The Exhibition" at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History (Atlanta, GA).

iv. "SportWorks" at the Saint Louis Science Center (St. Louis, MO).

v. "In the Dark" at the Cincinnati Museum Center (Cincinnati, OH).

vi. "Bones: An Exhibit Inside You" at The Academy of Natural Sciences (Philadelphia, PA).

vii. "Body Worlds 2: The Anatomical Exhibition of Real Human Bodies" at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (Denver, CO).
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8. THE TREASURE TROVE OF BRAIN TRIVIA

A. The blue-ringed octopus uses a neurotoxic venom called tetrodotoxin (first called maculotoxin). This venom is also used by the pufferfish.

B. In the United States, at least 300,000 school-age children (4 to 17 years old) have autism. (Source: CDC, http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/transcripts/ASDMMWRfactSheet.pdf)

C. The Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) can see the movement of a rabbit from more than a mile away. (Source: Proctor, N.S. and Lynch, P.J., Manual of Ornithology. Avian Structure and Function, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1993.)

D. Dr. Richard Axel, who won the 2004 Nobel Prize for his work on the olfactory system, delivered false teeth to dentists at the age of eleven, laid carpets at twelve and served sandwiches in a delicatessen at thirteen.

E. The first surgical treatment of the seizure disorder epilepsy was in 1886. (Source: Kandel, ER, Schwartz, JH and Jessell, TM, Principles of. Neural Science, New York: McGraw Hill, 2000.)
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9. SUPPORT NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS

To insure that Neuroscience for Kids stays available, we need your help. If you would like to contribute to the funding of Neuroscience for Kids, please visit:

Help Neuroscience for Kids
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10. HOW TO STOP RECEIVING THIS NEWSLETTER

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
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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)