NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS NEWSLETTER
Volume 20, Issue 4 (April, 2016)

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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. University of Washington BAW Open House
4. Bloomin' Brains Summer Camp
5. Media Alert
6. Treasure Trove of Brain Trivia
7. Support Neuroscience for Kids
8. 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/news203.html
B. 2016 University of Washington Brain Awareness Week Open House
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/baw16oh.html
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2. NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS "SITE OF THE MONTH"

The Neuroscience for Kids "Site of the Month" for April is "Exploding Brain Myths" at:

http://www.explodingbrainmyths.weebly.com

Exploding Brain Myths is a collection of short (about 90 seconds) videos to explain common misconceptions about neuroscience. Currently there are only four videos about a) The 10% Myth, b) The Love Hormone, c) Brain Training, and d) Left Brain, Right Brain. Created by Dr. Rhiannon Meredith, Rhod van Westen and Professor Matthijs Verhage at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Exploding Brain Myths adds a bit of humor as it educates. Let's hope they add more videos to their collection.
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3. UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON BAW OPEN HOUSE

We had a packed house of 800 students on March 17, 2016, for the University of Washington Brain Awareness Week Open House. As in past years, I started the students with an interactive assembly where the students took a comparative neuroanatomy challenge and looked at some visual illusions. After the assembly, students entered the hands-on exhibit area to try various demonstrations and activities set up by graduate and undergraduate students, faculty, and staff. Watch a short video of the event at:

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/baw16oh.html

Immediately after the BAW Open House, I drove about an hour south to Mill Creek Middle School for their Brain Symposium. At the Brain Symposium, I spoke with students, parents and teachers about neuroscience. The school was also filled with student projects and activities to teach visitors about the brain.
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4. BLOOMIN' BRAINS SUMMER CAMP

Registration is now open to middle school students for the 2016 Bloomin' Brains Summer Camp. The camp will be held on the University of Washington campus in Seattle from August 1 to August 5, 2016. This will be the fourth year of the summer camp and I am sure students will enjoy the experience.

For more information about the camp and online registration, see:

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

This camp is sponsored by my Sowing the Seeds of Neuroscience program.
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5. MEDIA ALERT

A. "The Bird Brainiacs" is a special section in the March/April 2016 issue of AUDUBON magazine. The articles describe the intelligence of birds in the crow family.

B. The cover story of the April 2016 issue of SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN magazine is titled "Stone Age Brains." The article describes how toolmaking shaped the brain.

C. "Ride the Tiger" is a one-hour documentary about people who have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. I got a sneak peak of this national PBS broadcast and highly recommend the program. The documentary will air on PBS on April 13, 2016. For more information about the program, see:

http://www.dptv.org/programs/documentaries/ride-tiger/

D. "Deadly Venoms Help Rather Than Hurt" by Leah Shaffer (DISCOVER magazine, April, 2016).
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6. THE TREASURE TROVE OF BRAIN TRIVIA

A. Retired soccer player Brandi Chastain announced that she will donate her brain to the Concussion Legacy Foundation so researchers can learn more about concussions and chronic traumatic encephalography. (Source: Branch, J., "Brandi Chastain to Donate Her Brain for C.T.E. Research," New York Times, March 3, 2016.)

B. The common bluebottle butterfly has at least 15 different types of photoreceptors in its eye. Humans have only three types of photoreceptors. (Source: Chen, P-J., et al., Extreme Spectral Richness in the Eye of the Common Bluebottle Butterfly, Graphium sarpedon, Front. Ecol. Evol., 08 March 2016, http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2016.00018.)

C. Approximately 4,000 people die from truck and bus crashes in the United States each year; about 10-20% of these crashes involve fatigued drivers. (Source: The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. Research Needs on CMV Driver Fatigue, Long-Term Health and Highway Safety, Committee on National Statistics, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21921.)

D. According to US News & World Report, the following universities have the best neuroscience/neurobiology graduate programs: Stanford University (#1), University of California, San Diego (#2), California Institute of Technology (tied #3) and Johns Hopkins University (tied #3). (Source: http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools)

E. Sciophobia is the irrational fear of shadows.
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7. 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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8. 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)