NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS NEWSLETTER
Volume 15, Issue 4 (April, 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. 2011 Brain Awareness Week
4. Be a Neuroscience Video Star
5. A Bright Idea
6. Teaching Neuroscience in India
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 March including:

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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2. NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS "SITE OF THE MONTH"

The Neuroscience for Kids "Site of the Month" for April is "Scientific American: MIND in Pictures" at:

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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3. 2011 BRAIN AWARENESS WEEK

Did you celebrate Brain Awareness Week (BAW) last month? Here at the University of Washington, 610 local students arrived on at the Seattle Museum of History and Industry for the 2011 University of Washington BAW Open House. Neuroscientists set up 50 tables with exhibits about the brain for the students to explore. Read more about the UW BAW at:

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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4. A BRIGHT IDEA

I've seen brain-shaped jello molds, erasers, cupcakes, and other products. But here's something new! A company called "solovyovdesign" has designed a brain-shaped light bulb. See it here:

http://www.solovyovdesign.by/en/portfolio/node-1290168462/?group_id=163

What a bright idea!
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5. BE A NEUROSCIENCE VIDEO STAR

Be the star of a video about the brain and nervous system, and win up to $1,000!

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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6. TEACHING NEUROSCIENCE IN INDIA

Later this month I will be leaving on a trip to India where I will be teaching neuroscience to a group of Tibetan monks and nuns. Rather than give all of the details of the trip in this newsletter, you can follow me through my "Neuroscience In India" blog at:

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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7. MEDIA ALERT

A. "Brain Freeze" by Sharon Begley about how too much information interferes with decision making is the cover story in the March 7, 2011, issue of Newsweek magazine.

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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8. THE TREASURE TROVE OF BRAIN TRIVIA

A. Julius Axelrod, a neuroscientist who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1970, was paid $25/month for his first job in a laboratory. (Source: http://sfn.org/skins/main/pdf/history_of_neuroscience/hon_vol_1/c2.pdf)

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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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)