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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 April including:
A. April Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter was archived
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/news2904.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/
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The Neuroscience for Kids "Site of the Month" for May is the "Neuroscience News" at:
"Neuroscience News" was founded in 2001 by Erik Driscoll as a place to publicize neuroscience research and cognitive science. Work from laboratories is summarized in articles around the general topics of neuroscience, neurology, psychology, AI, robotics and neurotech. Most of the articles on the site link to original news releases or actual research papers, including open access papers. Some articles have embedded videos to help explain the research.
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Last month I traveled to Dharamsala, India, to teach neuroscience to a group of Tibetan Buddhist nuns and participate in a conference. The class was arranged by the Science for Monks and Nuns program, an organization who I have worked with for about 15 years. The nuns are excellent students and very interested in the brain although they do not have much background with neuroscience. You can read about my trip in my travel blog at:
http://neuroinindia.blogspot.com
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Use your writing and video-making skills to enter some brain-related contests!
A. The International Neuroethics Society and the International Youth Neuroscience Association are sponsoring a Neuroethics Essay Contest. The competition is open to high school students from anywhere in the world. Entries are due on July 7, 2025. For contest rules, see:
https://neuroethicsessaycontest.com/call/
B. Brain Facts and the Society for Neuroscience are sponsoring the Brain Awareness Video Contest. Your entry should be entertaining and focus on a neuroscientific concept or activity. The entry deadline is June 20, 2025. For contest rules, see:
https://www.brainfacts.org/for-educators/programs-and-events/brain-awareness-video-contest
C. The Dana Program for Neuroscience and Society at Loyola University Chicago is sponsoring a neuroscience journalism competition. This competition is open to undergraduate students in the United States. Submissions are due on May 15, 2025. For contest rules, see:
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A. "'Artificial Nap' Could Provide Benefits of Sleep—Without Sleeping" and "The Hidden Social Lives of Male African Elephants" (SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, May, 2025).
B. "An Ancient Adaptation" and "Creatures of Compassion" (DISCOVER, May/June, 2025).
C. "Psychedelics Move Toward Mainstream Medicine" (AMERICAN SCIENTIST, May/June, 2025)
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A. Researchers have developed a new pain medication that targets delta opioid receptors; this drug may provide pain relief with fewer side effects (Source: Varga, B.R., et al., Structure-guided design of partial agonists at an opioid receptor, Nat. Commun., 16, 2518, 2025).
B. The exact wiring diagram of a one cubic millimeter area of mouse's visual cortex, with its 200,000 cells, four kilometers of axons, and 523 million synapses, has been mapped (Source: Allen Institute, https://tinyurl.com/ebnpt79k).
C. Viewing art can improve feelings of well-being (Source: Trupp, M.D., et al., The impact of viewing art on well-being -- a systematic review of the evidence base and suggested mechanisms, J. Positive Psychol., 1-25, 2025).
D. A chemical (a misfolded protein) found in cerebrospinal fluid can help with the early diagnosis of Parkinson's disease (Source: Schuler, M., et al., Alpha-synuclein misfolding as fluid biomarker for Parkinson's disease measured with the iRS platform, EMBO Mol. Med., 2025).
E. Grammy Award-winning rapper Lil Wayne revealed in 2013 that he has epilepsy.
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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.