____________________________________________________________
Welcome to the Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter.
In this issue:
____________________________________________________________
Neuroscience for Kids had several new additions in October including:
A. October Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter was archived
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/news2110.html
B. New Neuroscience in the News
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/inthenews.html
____________________________________________________________
The Neuroscience for Kids "Site of the Month" for November is "Explore Your Blind Spot" at:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/110777
Explore Your Blind Spot is a short (9 page), free, online book by Tom Stafford that uses your blind spot to teach how the brain works. Stafford has readers experiment with their blind spots with several simple diagrams and then explains what is known about how the creates perceptions when information is missing.
__________________________________________________________
The 2018 NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS POETRY WRITING CONTEST is now open to students in kindergarten through high school, college students, teachers and parents. Use your imagination to create a poem, limerick or haiku about the brain and you might win a prize. The complete set of rules and the official entry form for the contest are available at:
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/contest18.htmlHere is a short summary of the contest rules:
All poems, limericks and haiku must have at least THREE lines and CANNOT be longer than TEN lines. Material that is shorter than three lines or longer than ten lines will not be read. All material must have a neuroscience theme such as brain anatomy (a part of the brain), brain function (memory, language, emotions, movement, the senses, etc.), drug abuse or brain health (helmets, brain disorders, etc.).
Be creative! Use your brain! Visit the Neuroscience for Kids pages for ideas and information!
- If you are a STUDENT IN KINDERGARTEN TO GRADE 2: write a poem in any style; it doesn't have to rhyme.
- If you are a STUDENT IN GRADE 3 TO GRADE 5: write a poem that rhymes. The rhymes can occur in any pattern. For example, lines one and two can rhyme, lines three and four can rhyme, and lines five and six can rhyme. Or use your imagination and create your own rhyming pattern.
- If you are a STUDENT IN GRADE 6 TO GRADE 8: write a brainy haiku (3 lines only). A haiku MUST use the following pattern: 5 syllables in the first line; 7 syllables in the second line; 5 syllables in the third line. Here is an example:
- If you are a STUDENT IN GRADE 9 TO GRADE 12: write a brainy limerick. A limerick has 5 lines: lines one, two and five rhyme with each other and have the same number of syllables; lines three and four rhyme with each other and have the same number of syllables. Here is an example of a limerick:
- If you are a COLLEGE STUDENT, TEACHER, PARENT OR ANYONE ELSE: write a rhyming poem that explains why it is important to learn about the brain.
Books or other prizes will be awarded to multiple winners in each category.
Other rules:
A. You must use an entry form for your writing and send it in using "regular mail." Entries that are sent by e-mail will NOT be accepted.
B. Only ONE entry per person.
C. Students may enter by themselves or teachers may make copies of the entry form for their students and return completed entries in a single package. The contest is open to people from all countries.
Entries must be received by February 1, 2018.
__________________________________________________________
Brain Awareness Week (BAW) is a yearly event to promote the public and personal benefits of brain research. As part of international BAW at the University of Washington (Seattle, WA), you are invited to an Open House on Tuesday, March 6, 2018.
The Brain Awareness Week Open House will include an interactive group assembly about the brain and hands-on exhibits that highlight different aspects of brain research. Because of the high interest in the Open House and limited space available, we must restrict the number of people who can attend. Additional information (parking instructions, etc.) will be sent to the classes that are selected to attend.
For more information about UW BAW Open House, contact Dr. Eric H. Chudler (e-mail: chudler@u.washington.edu) or visit the UW BAW web page at:
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/baw.html
If you would like to attend the Open House, please complete the online application located at:
https://catalyst.uw.edu/webq/survey/chudler/341456
Those teachers and classes selected to attend the Open House will be notified no later than February 1, 2018.
__________________________________________________________
Last month, I drove three hours north in the pouring rain from Seattle to Vancouver, B.C. The reason for the trip was to visit the Belkin Museum to see the exhibit titled "The Beautiful Brain The Drawings of Santiago Ramón y Cajal" The drive was well worth the effort! On display were 80 of the original ink drawings made by Spanish neuroscientist Santiago Ramón y Cajal (born, 1852; died, 1934). Each drawing had been framed and placed under glass.
The detail contained each drawing was simply amazing. Cajal looked at thin sections of brain and nerve tissue with his microscope and drew what he saw. Remember that these drawings were made more than one hundred years ago. His observations lead him to propose that the nervous system was constructed of individual units (neurons) instead of a net of neural tissue. Cajal's work set the foundation for modern neuroscience and he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1906.
Some photos from the exhibit:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/RJIeK00As4VDmwDi2
__________________________________________________________
A. "An Insider's Guide to the Aging Brain" is the cover story of the October 2017 issue of DISCOVER magazine.
B. "Cell Supporters" is the cover story of the September-October 2017 issue of AMERCIAN SCIENTIST magazine.
C. "The Science of Creativity" is the cover story of the November 2017 issue of THE ATLANTIC magazine.
D. "The Power of an Open Mind" is the cover story of the November-December 2017 issue of SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MIND magazine.
E. Martinez-Conde, S. and Macknik, S.L., Misperceptions. Your perception may depend on your perspective, NATURAL HISTORY magazine, October 2017, pp. 16-21.
F. "Detecting Consciousness" is the cover story of the November 2017 issue of SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN magazine.
G. "Scents and Sensibility" by Marta Zaraska, "20 Things You Didn't Know About...Color" by Sylvia Morrow, "The Electric Touch" by Jonathon Keats (DISCOVER magazine, November 2017).
__________________________________________________________
A. Three neuroscientists (Jeffery C. Hall, Michael Rosbash, Michael Young) won the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries about circadian rhythms.
B. "Britain's Best Brain" was the name of a TV game show.
C. Venom from the Australian funnel-web spider may protect the brain from brain damage caused by a stroke. (Source: Chassagnon et al., Potent neuroprotection after stroke afforded by a double-knot spider-venom peptide that inhibits acid-sensing ion channel 1a, PNAS, 114:3750-3755, 2017.)
D. Silk from the wild silkworm (Antheraea pernyi) may help repair spinal cord damage. (Source: Varone et al., The potential of Antheraea pernyi silk for spinal cord repair, Scientific Reports, 2017; doi:10.1038/s41598-017-14280-5)
E. Medulla Elementary School is located in Lakeland, Florida.
_________________________________________________________
Help Neuroscience for Kids
_________________________________________________________
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)