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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 November including:
A. November Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter was archived
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/news2911.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 December is the "The ASSET Program" at:
https://assetprogram.wustl.edu/
Washington University (St. Louis, MO) has developed a collection of materials that use the unicellular protozoan Tetrahymena thermophile to teach precollege students about biology. Tetrahymena thermophile lives in fresh water and eats bacteria; it also moves and senses the environment, so it can be used in many different types of experiments. Of course, because the organism is so small, you must use a microscope to see it. The ASSET Program has created many activities to explore behavior, toxicology and pharmacology using these little organisms.
Click on the SCIENCE MODULES button to access all of the experiments arranged by grade level (elementary school, middle school, high school, science & society). By selecting a grade level module, you will be taken to Google drive where you can download student and teacher protocols with step-by-step guides to each activity. The ASSET program will even ship a kit to teachers. The kit has all of the equipment you will need to complete the module and must be returned after two weeks. The "DOCUMENTS, VIDEOS & RESOURCES" link has videos and other information about how to make cultures and use the equipment described in the modules.
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The DO-IT Center and Center for Neurotechnology at the University of Washington is sponsoring a free summer program for summer 2026 (dates to be determined). The program is open to high school students who are citizens and permanent residents of the United States and its possessions who identify as neurodiverse learners. The goal is to expose students to the field of neuroscience and provide basic preparation for college studies in STEM subjects and future STEM careers. For more information about this summer program, see:
https://doit.uw.edu/programs/neuroscience-for-neurodiverse-learners/summer-program/
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Join me and other neuroscientists for Science Sunday at the Southwest Branch of the Seattle Public Library (9010 35th Ave SW, Seattle, WA) on December 14, 2025 from 2:00 to 3:30 pm. We will have tables of activities and demonstrations for you to learn about the brain.
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A. "How Brain-Computer Interfaces will Shape Humanity. Seeing the Future" is the cover story of TIME magazine (November 24, 2025).
B. "From Soundwaves to Brainwaves: The Transformative Power of Music" is the cover story of THE SCIENTIST magazine (September, 2025).
C. "The Future of Your Memory" (NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, December, 2025).
D. PREVENTION (2025) has published a new magazine titled "Brain Games. Your playbook for a sharp, healthy mind."
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A. Spiders can smell with special sensors on their legs (Source: Talukder, M.B., et al., Olfaction with legs - Spiders use wall-pore sensilla for pheromone detection, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 122 (3) e2415468121, 2025).
B. Discovered in 2025, Lake Neuron in southern Albania is the world's largest underground thermal lake (Source: Neuron Foundation; https://tinyurl.com/3azhaps3).
C. In 11th century Britain, it was thought that the monarch had the power of the "royal touch" by which he could heal the sick by placing his hands on people who were ill (Source: Krugman, J. and Chorba, T., When a touch of gold was used to heal the King's evil, Emerg. Infect. Dis., 28:765-767, 2022).
D. On October 7, 2025, France's postal service issued a postage stamp honoring the croissant. The stamp is scented with a fresh-baked aroma.
E. Speaking more than one language may slow down brain aging (Source: Amoruso, L., et al., Multilingualism protects against accelerated aging in cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of 27 European countries, Nat Aging (2025), https://doi.org/10.1038/s43587-025-01000-2).
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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.