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In this issue:
A. March Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter was archived
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/news153.html
B. Difficult Fonts for Better Learning
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/font.html
C. 2011 University of Washington Brain Awareness Week Open House
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/bawoh11.html
D. May, June, July, August Neurocalendars
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/pdf/may11.pdf
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/pdf/jun11.pdf
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/pdf/jul11.pdf
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/pdf/aug11.pdf
In March, 9 new figures were added and 30 pages were modified.
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http://www.scientificamerican.com/department.cfm?id=mind-in-pictures
The Scientific American Mind magazine is published five times a year with great articles about the brain and neuroscience. One special feature in these issues is "MIND in Pictures." Written by neuroscientist Dwayne Godwin and illustrator Jorge Cham, "MIND in Pictures" is a multi-paneled cartoon that explains a particular topic. The current feature from the March, 2011, magazine is titled "I Think, Therefore I Scan?" and in nine panels describes functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The previous magazine had feature titled "The Iron Horse" and told the story of baseball great Lou Gehrig and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's Disease).
So, for a little humor with your neuroscience, try "MIND in Pictures."
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http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/bawoh11.html
The DANA Foundation also had a short interview with me about my experiences with BAW. You can read the interview on the DAD Web site at:
http://www.dana.org/media/detail.aspx?id=31116
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http://www.solovyovdesign.by/en/portfolio/node-1290168462/?group_id=163
What a bright idea!
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The Society for Neuroscience (SfN) is looking for videos that creatively educate and excite the public about neuroscience, and we want you to get involved! Cash prizes will be awarded to the best original video that demonstrates a concept about the brain or nervous system in less than five minutes through an animation, song or skit. Videos will be judged on accuracy, creativity and educational content. Scientists of ALL ages are welcome to participate, but contestants must partner with an SfN member. You can find a neuroscientist near you using the SfN Web site at:
http://www.sfn.org/index.aspx?pagename=neuroscientistTeacherPartners
Submissions are due June 10, 2011. For details about the contest, see:
http://www.sfn.org/index.aspx?pagename=bavideo_main
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http://neuroinindia.blogspot.com/
I will post messages to the blog as I prepare for the trip and during my
stay in India when I have access to the Internet.
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B. "Why Machines Will Never Beat the Human Mind" is the cover story of the March 2011 issue of The Atlantic magazine. Inside this issue is an article titled "Mind vs Machine" by Brian Christian.
C. "All About Us" is a new exhibit that opened on March 11, 2011 at "At-Bristol," a science museum in Bristol, England. The exhibit focuses on the human body with more than 50 interactive demonstrations on the topics of the cardiovascular system, senses, reproduction, locomotion, digestion, DNA and brains.
D. "Small Child, Big Worries" by Jeffrey Kluger (TIME magazine, March 21, 2011) discusses mental illness in infants and toddlers.
E. Implantable bionic eyes are described in the April, 2011, issue of Popular Science.
F. "Neuroscience in the Courtroom" by Michael S. Gazzaniga (Scientific American, April, 2011) discusses how brain scans might be used by the legal system in the future.
G. "Beauty of the Brain" by Laura Helmuth (Smithsonian magazine, March,
2011) reviews the new book "Portraits of the Mind" by Carl Schoonover.
The magazine article reprints some of the great brain photographs found in
the book.
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B. Stuttering affects more than 3 million people in the United States and another 60 million worldwide. (Source: http://newsinhealth.nih.gov/issue/Feb2011/Feature2)
C. The African Grey parrot has a body that weighs about 405 g and a brain that weighs 9.18 g. This means that this bird's brain is about 2.3% of its total body weight. This brain to body weight ratio is similar than the brain to body weight ratio for humans (about 2%). (Source: Prior, H., Schwarz, A., and Gunturkun, O. Mirror-induced behavior in the magpie (Pica pica): evidence of self-recognition, PLoS Biol. 2008 Aug 19;6(8):e202.)
D. Approximately 5.3 million people in the United States are living with Alzheimer's disease. (Source: 2010 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures, Chicago: Alzheimer's Association, 2010.)
E. The total surface area of the membranes of 100 billion neurons is
25,000 square meters. The is equal to the size of four soccer fields
(Source: Bear, M.F., Connors, B.W. and Pradiso, M.A., Neuroscience:
Exploring the Brain, 2nd edition, Baltimore: Lippincott Williams and
Wilkins, 2001, p. 97)
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Help Neuroscience for Kids
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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)