NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS NEWSLETTER
Volume 15, Issue 2 (February, 2011)

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In this issue:

1. What's New at Neuroscience for Kids
2. Neuroscience for Kids Site of the Month
3. Neuroscience for Kids Drawing Contest - Judging
4. 2011 Brain Awareness Week
5. The Smell of Lithuania
6. Google Global Science Fair 2011
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 January including:

A. January Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter was archived
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/news151.html
B. 2011 Neuroscience for Kids Yearly Calendar
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/pdf/yr11cal.pdf

In January, 3 new figures were added and 40 pages were modified.
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2. NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS "SITE OF THE MONTH"

The Neuroscience for Kids "Site of the Month" for February is the "NIH Photo Gallery" at:

http://www.nih.gov/about/nihphotos.htm

Do you have trouble finding the right photograph for presentations and reports? And when you find something to use, are you unsure about copyright and getting permission to use it? If you answered "YES" to these questions, then the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Photo Gallery Web site is the place for you. This Web site makes it easy for you to find and use health-related photographs. The gallery has images from 17 different offices, institutes and centers including the National Eye Institute, National Institute on Aging, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institute of Mental Health, National Library of Medicine, and National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Because most of the images are in the public domain, they are not under copyright protection and you can use them in your projects.

The photo database is searchable by category and keyword. I tried a keyword search using "brain" and the Web site found some interesting pictures including some great PET scan images. A category search of "Scientists" resulted in 97 images showing researchers at work.

So, the next time you are looking for that perfect photo for your next project, try the NIH Photo Gallery.
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3. NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS DRAWING CONTEST - JUDGING

The 2011 NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS DRAWING CONTEST is now closed and judging has begun. Winners will be announced in next month's Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter.
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4. 2011 BRAIN AWARENESS WEEK

Brain Awareness Week (BAW) is next month! I hope you will participate at your own school or in your neighborhood. For more information about BAW, visit the Dana Alliance and Society for Neuroscience web sites at:

http://www.dana.org/brainweek/

and

http://www.sfn.org/BAW/

Show your BRAINY spirit for BAW:

http://www.neuro4kids.com
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5. THE SMELL OF LITHUANIA

Airlines, toy companies and hotels have "branded" themselves with distinctive smells, so why not an entire country? Perhaps that's what the government of Lithuania had in mind when it created a new perfume to characterized their country. Bottles of the new fragrance that contain the scents of sandalwood, cedar and musk were sent to ambassadors and Lithuanian soldiers stationed in Afghanistan. Other products with the same smell are in development and may show up in Lithuanian embassies, hotels and airports.

If you were to create a smell to characterize yourself, your school or home, what would it smell like?
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6. GOOGLE GLOBAL SCIENCE FAIR 2011

Google has opened a world-wide science fair competition for students who are 13 to 18 years old. Projects can be submitted in the following categories: Computer Science & Math, Earth & Environmental Sciences, Behavioral & Social Sciences, Flora & Fauna, Energy & Space, Inventions & Innovation, Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Food Science, and Electricity & Electronics. A project about the brain and nervous system could fit into several of these categories.
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7. MEDIA ALERT

A. The museum exhibit "Body Worlds & the Brain" at the Arizona Science Center in Phoenix, Arizona, opened last month and runs through May 30, 2011. Another museum exhibit, "Play," is at the Discovery Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and runs from February 5, 2011 to May 8, 2011.

B. The January-February, 2011, issue of Scientific American selected the Top 100 Stories of 2010. The selection includes several neuroscience related topics including: #10: Early Diagnosis for Alzheimer's; #12: Brain Map Shows You Think Like a Worm; #21: Scans Can Track Brain Development; #31: Autism: One Label, Many Diseases?; #32: Sleep Switch Found in the Brain?; #41: Scans Unlock Hidden Life in Vegetative Brains; #58: The 13 Faces of Lyme; #62: Glia The Other Brain Cells; #68: Emotions Survive After Memories Vanish; #78: Good Listeners Get Inside Your Head; #80: Magnets Can Change Your Moral Values.

C. "Grow Your Mind. The truth about how to boost your brain's performance" by Sharon Begley is the cover story of the January 10-17, 2011, issue of Newsweek magazine.

D. "How Language Shapes Thought" by Lera Boroditsky and "Mind Out of Body" by Miguel A. L. Nicolelis (Scientific American, February, 2011).

E. "Lasting Impact" by Luna Shyr discusses how sports-related head injuries can affect the brain (National Geographic magazine, February, 2011).

F. "Headbanger Nation" by Jeffrey Kluger (Time magazine, January 31, 2011) is an excellent article about children and sports-related concussions. "Playing Defense" by Mehmet Oz follows this article with suggestions for parents and coaches to keep kids safe from concussions.
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8. THE TREASURE TROVE OF BRAIN TRIVIA

A. Children who are 5 to 7 years old consume about 52 mg of caffeine each day; children who are 8 to 12 years old consume about 109 mg of caffeine each day. The more caffeine children consumed, the smaller number of hours they sleep each night. (Source: Warzak et al., Caffeine consumption in young children, J. Pediatrics, 12/15/2010, Epub ahead of print.)

B. The lens of the human eye weighs about 174 milligrams. (Source: Flindt, R., Amazing Numbers in Biology, Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 2006.)

C. The ancient Greeks believed that placing the herb rosemary under a pillow would help a person sleep.

D. There are three different lakes named "Brain Lake" in Canada (in Manitoba, Ontario and Saskatchewan).

E. Using their sense of smell, polar bears can find a whale carcass twenty miles (32 kilometers) away or a seal under six feet of snow and ice. (Source: Shanor, K. and Kanwal, J., Bats Sing, Mice Giggle. The Surprising Science of Animals' Inner Lives, London: Totem Books, 2010.)
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9. SUPPORT NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS

To ensure that Neuroscience for Kids stays available, we need your help. All contributions to Neuroscience for Kids are tax deductible (subject to IRS regulations). If you would like to donate to 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)