NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS NEWSLETTER
Volume 18, Issue 2 (February, 2014)

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Welcome to the Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter.

In this issue:

1. What's New at Neuroscience for Kids
2. Neuroscience for Kids Site of the Month
3. Neuroscience for Kids Writing Contest
4. Book Review
5. Brain Awareness Week
6. Bloomin' Brains Summer Camp
7. Summer Workshop for Teachers
8. Media Alert
9. Treasure Trove of Brain Trivia
10. Support Neuroscience for Kids
11. 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/news181.html

B. Malathion Contaminates Food in Japan
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/mala.html

C. March and April NeuroCalendars
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/pdf/mar14.pdf
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/pdf/apr14.pdf

In January, 3 new figures were added and 20 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 "Knowing Neurons" at:

http://knowingneurons.com/

"Knowing Neurons" calls itself a website about neuroscience for college students and the general public. The articles on the site, written by graduate students and post-doctoral researchers, are a bit text heavy, but also contain colorful drawings and photographs to illustrate concepts.

There are two ways to navigate through the site. A vertical menu has options related to neuroscientific concepts such as brain basics, brain development, sleep, aging, learning and memory, and movement. A horizontal menu sends you to content related to neuroscience news, popular articles, and information about the site.

Although intended for college students, Knowing Neurons should be useful to anyone interested in learning more about neuroscience.
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3. NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS WRITING CONTEST

The 2014 NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS POETRY WRITING CONTEST is now closed and judging has begun. Winners will be announced in the March Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter.
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4. BOOK REVIEW

Halvorson, K., Inside the Brain, Minneapolis: ABDO Publishing Co., 2013

Reading Level: Grades K-3

"Inside the Brain" is a new entry in the Super Simple Body book series by the ABDO Publishing Company. Author Karin Halvorson takes on the brain by with easy to understand chapters about the senses, nerves, reflexes, involuntary responses, balance, thought, emotion and personality. Some of the topics have experiments and demonstrations to reinforce concepts such as the blink reflex, knee jerk reflex, Stroop effect, and a brain cap. Unfortunately, the book also contains some errors and misconceptions. For example, Halvorson states that the adult brain is about the size of a grapefruit. I have never seen a three pound grapefruit! Grapefruits weigh about 0.5 lb and the brain weighs about 3.0 lb. Readers learn correctly that everyone uses both sides of their brain, but then readers are asked to find out if they are "right-brained" or "left-brained." Nevertheless, with the many bright and colorful images and simple explanations, "Inside the Brain" is sure to appeal to young scientists.
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5. 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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6. BLOOMIN' BRAINS SUMMER CAMP

Are you a middle school student interested in a summer "deep dive" into neuroscience and botany? Do you know a middle school student who is? If so, then the Sowing the Seeds of Neuroscience free summer day camp is for you. This camp is part of my Sowing the Seeds of Neuroscience grant from the National Institutes of Health.

The 2014 "Bloomin' Brains" neuroscience summer day camp will be held on the University of Washington campus July 21-24 from 9 am to 3 pm each day, and supervised by teachers, graduate students, undergraduates and UW faculty. Parents are responsible for providing transportation to and from campus and for providing sack lunches. Campers will have the opportunity to:

- Conduct hands-on science experiments

- Learn about traditional uses of medicinal plants in Native cultures

- Explore the structure and function of the brain

- Visit the Burke Museum, UW Botany Greenhouse, and Medicinal Herb Garden

- Listen to real scientists talk about their careers

- Discover "the art of the brain" by constructing models

- Make a plant extract and tie-dye a shirt

- Research neuroscience at the UW computer lab

For more information about the camp and the application form, please visit:

http://www.neuroseeds.org/home/2014-bloomin-brains-summer-camp

Discover how much fun science can be!
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7. SUMMER WORKSHOP FOR TEACHERS

You can call it a summer camp for teachers! Here at the University of Washington, we will hold a workshop for teachers August 4-8, 2014. During the workshop, teachers will work through the Sowing the Seeds of Neuroscience curriculum. Teachers who complete the workshop will be able to check out Neuroseeds kits for use in their classrooms during the school year. For more information and workshop registration, see:

http://www.neuroseeds.org/home/2014-teacher-workshop
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8. MEDIA ALERT

A. "Secrets of the Brain" is the cover story of National Geographic magazine (February, 2014).

B. "Mapping the Brain" discussion with Christof Koch, John Donoghue and Carl Zimmer at the National Geographic headquarters in Washington, D.C., on February 18, 2014. Tickets start at $24.

C. The February 2014 issue of SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN has the articles "Why Gaming Could Be the Future of Education," "Should We Use Devices to Make Us Smarter?," "The Discovery of Super Memories," and "The Startling Intelligence of the Common Chicken."

D. "Braingames" is an Emmy nominated series on the National Geographic Channel on Mondays at 9:00 p.m. The new season features interactive illusions, challenges, and experiments that showcase the extraordinary nature of the human brain. See:

http://braingames.nationalgeographic.com/episode/5/

E. A new issue of SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MIND is now available with articles about autism, intelligence, traumatic brain injury and adult ADHD.
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9. THE TREASURE TROVE OF BRAIN TRIVIA

A. The European Brain Council has declared 2014 the "Year of the Brain in Europe." See:

http://www.europeanbraincouncil.org/projects/eyob/

B. The Northern Short-Tailed Shrew (Blarina brevicauda) is North America's only venomous mammal. This animal produces a neurotoxin in its salivary glands that is used to paralyze prey. (Source: Reichl, F.-X. and Ritter, L., Illustrated Handbook of Toxicology, New York: Thieme New York, 2011.)

C. A 2001 postage stamp from Angola has a picture of neuroscientist Ramon y Cajal, but incorrectly labels the picture as neuroscientist Camillo Golgi. (Source: Triarhou, L. and del Cerro, M., Ramon y Cajal Erroneously Identified as Camillo Golgi on a Souvenir Postage Stamp, J. History of the Neurosciences, 21:132-138, 2012.)

D. 10% of the mouse cerebral cortex is involved with vision; 50% of the macaque monkey cerebral cortex is involved with vision. (Source: Baker, M., Through the eyes of a mouse, Nature, 502:156-158, 2013.)

E. There are 200,000 neurons in primary visual cortex of the mouse and 300,000,000 neurons in primary visual cortex of the macaque monkey. (Source: Baker, M., Through the eyes of a mouse, Nature, 502:156-158, 2013.)
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10. 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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11. 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)