NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS NEWSLETTER
Volume 7, Issue 11 (November, 2003)

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Welcome to the Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter.

Here is what you will find in this issue:

1. What's New on the Neuroscience for Kids Web Pages
2. Neuroscience for Kids Site of the Month
3. Neuroscience for Kids Writing Contest - Now Open
4. Olympic Sports - New List of Banned Drugs
5. Book Review
6. Media Alert
7. Treasure Trove of Brain Trivia
8. Support Neuroscience for Kids
9 . How to Stop Your Subscription
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1. WHAT'S NEW ON THE NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS PAGES

Neuroscience for Kids had several new additions in October. Here are some of them:

A. October Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter was archived
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/news710.html
B. Magnetic Shoe Inserts do NOT Reduce Foot Pain
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/magnet.html
C. Neuroscience for Kids Writing Contest
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/contest03.html
C. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Nets Two the 2003 Nobel Prize
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/nobel03.html
D. Neuroscience "Domino" Sets
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/works.html#dom
E. Egyptian Conjoined Twins Separated
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/ntwin.html
F. Year 2004 Wall Calendar
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/pdf/y2004.pdf

In October, 15 new figures were added and 67 pages were modified.
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2. NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS "SITE OF THE MONTH"

The Neuroscience for Kids "Site of the Month" for November is the "Monell Chemical Senses Center" at:

http://www.monell.org/index.htm

The Monell Chemical Senses Center is a research organization set up to study the chemical senses. Located in Philadelphia, PA, the Center has more than 100 scientists and technicians investigating taste, smell and chemical irritation. The web site provides an overview of the six research areas at the Center: a) Sensation & Perception, b) Neuroscience & Molecular Biology, c) Environmental & Occupational Health, d) Nutrition & Appetite, e)Health & Well-Being and f) Chemical Ecology & Communication. Visitors to the web site can also learn about the research activities by reading the online newsletter, "The Monell Connection."

High school students may be interested in the Science Apprenticeship Program offered by the Monell Chemical Senses Center. This program brings students to the Center for an eight-week summer research experience. Details and an application for the program are available at:

http://www.monell.org/studentprogram/index.htm
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3. NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS WRITING CONTEST - NOW OPEN

The NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS WRITING CONTEST is now open to students in kindergarten through high school. 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/contest03.html

Here is a 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 even 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:

Three pounds of jelly
wobbling around in my skull
and it can do math

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:

The brain is important, that's true,
For all things a person will do,
From reading to writing,
To skiing to biting,
It makes up the person who's you.

Books or other prizes will be awarded to at least one winner in each category. There were more than 50 prize winners in last year's Neuroscience for Kids drawing contest.

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 student.

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.

D. Please download the entry form on the following page:

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/pdf/contest03.pdf

If you cannot download the entry form, let me know (e-mail: chudler@u.washington.edu) and I will send a form to you attached to an e-mail.
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4. OLYMPIC SPORTS - NEW LIST OF BANNED DRUGS

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) was established in 1999 to eliminate the use of drugs in sports. WADA works with the International Olympic Committee, International Sports Federations, National Olympic Committees and athletes to promote a drug-free sport environment.

In September, 2002, WADA published a new list of banned substances. This list will go into effect on January 1, 2004, and will be used during the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.

Banned substances include stimulants (e.g., amphetamines, cocaine), narcotics (e.g., morphine, oxycodone, methadone), marijuana, anabolic steroids and peptide hormones. Chemicals that people might use to hide drugs from detection ("masking agents") are also banned. Caffeine and pseudoephedrine, two drugs that were on an older version of the list, are NOT on the new list. Caffeine was taken off of the new list so that athletes who drink cola or coffee are not penalized. Pseudoephedrine, a mild stimulant, is a drug found in common cold medicines such as Sudafed.
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5. BOOK REVIEW

Tomorrow's People: How 21st-Century Technology Is Changing the Way We Think and Feel by Susan Greenfield, London: Allen Lane, 2003, 304 pages, ISBN: 0713996315.
(Reviewed by Victoria Gill for Neuroscience for Kids)

Professor Susan Greenfield, Director of the Royal Institute, is renowned for her media-friendly approach to science and has glamorized the image of neuroscience research to the point where she has been accused of "dumbing down." To these criticisms she answers that "it is more challenging to make complex, salient points sound simple." In her new book, "Tomorrow's People," she meets this challenge and tackles the issue of how the progression of science and technology could affect human culture, consciousness and even free will by fundamentally altering our minds.

The book is structured to provide discussions of each aspect of human life and provides clear links between them in the manner of a well constructed seminar. Yet despite the sheer volume of facts, Professor Greenfield manages to make the content sufficiently intriguing and concise so that the reader is not bombarded by information. The style is on occasion conversational, but her passion for her subject matter is truly engaging.

From the outset of the book, Greenfield combines vivid imagery of a possible future with descriptions of the pioneering research that may make these images plausible. The science is beautifully simplified and described with the reverence of a researcher passionate about her work and that of others in neuroscience, artificial intelligence and genetics. She discusses the emotive subjects of cloning and terrorism with candor, avoiding any hint of paranoia. Her main fear appears to be of a future where the ever more realistic cyber world may rob us of our human ability to interact. It is here that the book takes on a philosophical tone.

Professor Greenfield succeeds in providing an inspiring and thought- provoking account of the incredible changes that have already altered our way of thinking and how further changes, although seemingly far fetched, could blend just as imperceptibly into our future. The book is an interesting narrative aimed at nonexpert readers of popular science. Painstakingly accurate references to several pioneering studies are blended into a compelling vision of how differing areas of research combine to form a vision of the future. It is the same riveting read that has already propelled Greenfield to the best seller list. Her new book is popular science at its best and a good recreational read.
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6. MEDIA ALERT

A. "Come Out From Under Your Cloud," by Dr. Isadore Rosenfeld, on page 12 of PARADE magazine (Sunday newspaper insert), October 5, 2003.

B. "Why We Sleep" by Jerome M. Siegel and "Brain Not Inflamed?" (about Alzheimer's disease) by Dennis Watkins in Scientific American, November 2003.

C. "Ah...ah...ah...CHOO! Short-circuiting your nerves," by Eric Haseltine, in Discover, November 2003, page 96.

D. "Healthy Minds, Healthy Bodies" (cover story in PARADE magazine, October 12, 2003) describes living with multiple sclerosis (page 5) and the effects of stress on health.

E. "The Stubborn Scientist Who Unraveled A Mystery of the Night" by Chip Brown (Smithsonian magazine, October, 2003) describes the work of Eugene Aserinsky and his discovery of rapid eye movement sleep.

F. "Robo-Monkey's Reward" by Michael Lemonick, about a monkey's brain controlling a robotic arm in Time magazine, October 27, 2003, pages 46-47.

G. "Are We Giving Kids Too Many Drugs?" is the cover story of Time magazine, November 3, 2003.

H. "The Alternative Fix," a program about alternative and complementary medicine, will debut on November 6, 2003 on PBS. For more information about this show, see: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/altmed/
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7. THE TREASURE TROVE OF BRAIN TRIVIA

A. In the United States, 50 billion aspirin tablets are consumed each year. (Source: A.S. Harding. Milestones in Health and Medicine, Phoenix (AZ) Oryx Press, 2000.)

B. Atropine, a drug that blocks receptors for the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, is made from the poisonous Atropa belladonna plant. Carolus Linnaeus named this plant family Atropos after the Fate in Greek mythology who cuts the thread of life. (Source: A.S. Harding. Milestones in Health and Medicine, Phoenix (AZ) Oryx Press, 2000.)

C. Leonardo da Vinci designed contact lenses made of glass filled with water. (Source: A.S. Harding. Milestones in Health and Medicine, Phoenix (AZ) Oryx Press, 2000.)

D. Tigger, a Bassett Hound, is the dog with the longest ears. His ears measure 34.9 cm (13.75 in) and 34.2 cm (13.5 in) length. (Source: Guinness World Records.)

E. Drunken behavior and violent crimes involving adolescent drinking cost the US $53 billion per year, including $19 million from traffic accidents. The US government spends 25 times as much on anti-drug campaigns as it does on preventing adolescents from drinking. (Source: National Academy of Sciences, reported in Time, September 22, 2003, page 78.)
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8. SUPPORT NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS If you would like to make a donation to support Neuroscience for Kids, please visit:

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/help.html
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9. 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)

"Neuroscience for Kids" is supported by a Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) from the National Center of Research Resources.