NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS NEWSLETTER
Volume 20, Issue 7 (July, 2016)

____________________________________________________________

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. Summer Brains
  4. Media Alert
  5. Treasure Trove of Brain Trivia
  6. Support Neuroscience for Kids
  7. How to Stop Your Subscription
____________________________________________________________

1. WHAT'S NEW AT NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS

Neuroscience for Kids had several new additions in June including:

A. June Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter was archived
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/news206.html
B. Zika Virus
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/zika.html
__________________________________________________________

2. NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS "SITE OF THE MONTH"

The Neuroscience for Kids "Site of the Month" for July is "NeuroPsyFi" at:

http://www.neuropsyfi.com/

Dr. Mary Spiers and her team of writers must enjoy the movies and neuroscience. They have combined these interests to create the web site "NeuroPsyFi: The Brain Science Behind the Movies." The NeuroPsyFi web site contains descriptions and reviews of Hollywood films and critiques them on how scientifically accurate they portray the issues. Teachers interested in using neuro-related films with their students can turn to a section of the web site titled "Using Movies about the Brain in the Classroom" where they can find suggested movies, activities and assignments.

For additional resources about neuroscience and the movies, see:

A. Neuroscience for Kids: Neuroscience at the Movies
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/moviesn.html

B. "Neurocinema: When Film Meets Neurology" by Eelco F.M. Wijdicks, Boca Raton (FL): CRC Press, 2015.
__________________________________________________________

3. SUMMER BRAINS

With summer in full swing, you may be looking for new things to keep you busy. Why not visit your local museum? Many of them have exhibits that highlight the brain. Here are some examples:

A. Museum at Prairiefire (Overland Park, KS)

B. Brain Museum at Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (Buffalo, NY)

C. The Indiana Medical History Museum (Indianapolis, IN)

D. The Franklin Institute (Philadelphia, PA)

E. The Mutter Museum (Philadelphia, PA)

F. The Cushing Center (New Haven, CT)

G. Bloomfield Science Museum (Jerusalem, Israel)

H. Museum of Brain & Mind (Nagpur, India)

I. The Brain Museum (Bangalore, India)

J. The Science Museum (London, England)

Do you have a favorite brain museum you would like to share with other Neuroscience Newsletter readers? Let me know (chudler@u.washington.edu).
__________________________________________________________

4. MEDIA ALERT

A. The July 2016 issue of SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MIND is on newsstands now with articles including "How to Prevent Alzheimer's" and "The Making of an Olympian."

B. The July/August 2016 issue of DISCOVER magazine is all about "Everything Worth Knowing About" Included are discussions about how we learn, sleep disorders, stem cells, creativity, animal intelligence and medical imaging.

C. "Better Brains From Games" is the cover story in the July 2016 issue of SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN.

D. The ILNF International Neuroscience Contest 2016 is now open for students in kindergarten through grade 12. Students can enter essays, drawings and video about neuroscience. For rules and entry information, see: http://ilnf.jimdo.com/events
__________________________________________________________

5. THE TREASURE TROVE OF BRAIN TRIVIA

A. An elephant brain has about 257 billion neurons; 98% of all of these neurons are found in the cerebellum. (Source: Herculano-Houzel, S., The Human Advantage. A New Understanding of How Our Brain Became Remarkable, Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2016.)

B. Pat Summitt, former coach of the University of Tennessee women's basketball team, passed away last month on June 28, 2016, at the age of 64, five years after being diagnosed with early onset dementia (Alzheimer's disease).

C. The first line in the song "Shake It Off" by pop singer Taylor Swift is "I stay up too late, got nothing in my brain."

D. Neuroscientist Santiago Ramon y Cajal (1852-1934), who won the 1906 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Camillo Golgi, failed twice before becoming a professor of descriptive anatomy in 1883. (Source: Worek, M., Nobel. A Century of Prize Winners, 2nd Edition, Buffalo (NY): Firefly Books, Ltd., 2010.)

E. German neurologist Joachim Bodamer coined the term "prosopagnosia" (face blindness) in 1947.
_________________________________________________________

6. 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
_________________________________________________________

7. 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
_________________________________________________________

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)