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Welcome to the Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter.
In this issue:
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Neuroscience for Kids had several new additions in September including:
A. September Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter was archived
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/news2809.html
B. New Neuroscience in the News
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/inthenews.html
C. Visit or follow my Instagram site with neuroscience facts and trivia:
https://www.instagram.com/ericchudler/
D. New NeuroCalendars
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/neurocal.html
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The Neuroscience for Kids "Site of the Month" for October is the "Neurotorium" at:
The Neurotorium was created by neuroscientists, neurologists and psychiatrists associated with the Lundbeck Foundation, an organization with a mission "to improve awareness and knowledge of the brain and its diseases." The web site hosts a variety of resources for students and teachers interested in learning about the brain. Currently, the site has slide decks, articles, videos, and graphics about bipolar disorder, stroke, substance use disorders/addictions, migraine, Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, depression and Alzheimer's disease.
In my opinion, the best part of the Neurotorium is the 3D Brain Atlas (click on the link at the top of the web site). This interactive atlas allows you to rotate a brain in any direction. If you place your cursor over any part of the brain, you will see a small popup with the name of the area. If you click a place on the brain, a bit of text describing the area will appear in a box on the left side of your screen. You can even see inside of the brain by changing the surface opacity. Give it a try -- think you will be impressed.
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Winners of the 2024 Brain Awareness Video Contest have been announced. First place went to Joshua Moses for "The BBB and Its Story!," second place went to Christoph Koenig for "A Chocolate Heist: Neuroscience of Dark Adaptation," and third Place went to Lindsey Czarnecki for "Sun Rays and Long Days, Our Brain's Clock." The People's Choice Award was given to Eduardo Traviezo for "The Great Show of Consciousness." Watch all of the winning videos:
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Later this month I will travel to Chicago, IL, to join other neuroscientists at the 2024 Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting. This meeting is the big one -- according to the Society for Neuroscience, more than 30,000 people from 80 countries will attend!
Because the meeting is so large, it is difficult to see everything. There are thousands of posters and hundreds of talks about every neuroscientific topic you can think of. The meeting is a chance for scientists to discuss their work and get ideas for new experiments. Many attendees, including undergraduate and graduate students, attend the meeting to look for new research opportunities and jobs.
My advice to anyone who attends: make sure you wear comfortable walking shoes. It is easy to walk several miles each day.
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A. Several interesting short articles in the October 2024 issue of SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN magazine about cyborg worms, brain scans of jazz musicians, caterpillars that can detect the electrical field of wasps, and ultrasonic stimulation of the brain to improve mindfulness.
B. "Coming Alive" (THE NEW YORKER, September 30, 2024) is a collection of letters sent by author, neurologist Oliver Sacks (born 1933; died 2015).
C. "Do Wildlife Use Tools?" (NATIONAL WILDLIFE, Summer 2024).
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A. National Football League Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre was recently diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.
B. The word "acetylcholine" comes from the Latin word "acetum" that means vinegar and the Greek word "chole" that means bile.
C. Ardem Patapoutian, 2021 winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discoveries of receptors for temperature and touch, was born on October 2, 1976.
D. Wild baboons (Papio anubis) sleep less when they area in unfamiliar locations and when there are more animals in their group (Source: Loftus, J.C. et al., Ecological and social pressures interfere with homeostatic sleep regulation in the wild. Elife. 2022 Mar 1;11:e73695).
E. A new blood test can identify Alzheimer's disease correctly with about 90% accuracy (Source: Palmqvist, S. et al., Blood biomarkers to detect Alzheimer disease in primary care and secondary care. JAMA. 2024 Jul 28:e2413855. doi: 10.1001/jama.2024.13855).
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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.