NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS NEWSLETTER
Volume 30, Issue 8 (August, 2026)

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Welcome to the Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter.

In this issue:

  1. What's New at Neuroscience for Kids
  2. Neuroscience for Kids Site of the Month
  3. Book Review
  4. Children’s Eye Health and Safety Awareness Month
  5. Media Alert
  6. Treasure Trove of Brain Trivia
  7. Email Changes
  8. Support Neuroscience for Kids
  9. How to Stop Your Subscription

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1. WHAT'S NEW AT NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS

Neuroscience for Kids had several new additions in July including:

A. July Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter was archived
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/news3007.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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2. NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS "SITE OF THE MONTH"

The Neuroscience for Kids "Site of the Month" for August is the "NIGMS Image and Video Gallery" at:

https://www.nigms.nih.gov/image-gallery

The National Institute of General Medical Science at the National Institutes of Health curates a large collection of online images and videos on its website. Because the materials are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial ShareAlike 3.0, you can use and change the images for non-commercial projects.

Start your exploration of the resource by using the "Search" bar to find images. I suggest that you also select the "Sort by" / "Title" option to focus your search. I searched the site using "brain" and "neuron" and found some great photographs of the hippocampus and cerebellum. It's also fun just to browse the site to see beautiful pictures from different labs and research topics.

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3. BOOK REVIEW

Title: Journey Through the Mind
Author: Dan Whitehead
Publication Date: 2026 / Publisher: Hungry Tomato Ltd.
Reading Level: Grades 4-7 / 175 pages

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Journey Through the Mind is a great introduction to brain with author Dan Whitehead covering not only the senses, emotions, memory and sleep, but also methods used to study the brain and neurological disorders. The book also tackles several common myths about the brain. With colorful illustrations on each page, Journey Through the Mind is sure to take readers on a fascinating trip into neuroscience.

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4.CHILDREN’S EYE HEALTH AND SAFETY AWARENESS MONTH

August is Children's Eye Health and Safety Awareness Month, a time to focus attention on eye safety, eye exams, and protective gear for the eyes. This month is especially important because kids will be going back to school soon and healthy vision is critical for success in the classroom. Good vision is needed throughout the school day for reading, writing, art, music, math, science, playing sports, using computers, and following teacher instructions.

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5. MEDIA ALERT

A. "Countless Lifeforms Sense, Remember, and Communicate, All Without Brains" is the cover story of DISCOVER magazine (Summer, 2026).

B. "Implicating the Brain" and "Hallmarks of Consciousness" (AMERICAN SCIENTIST, July/August, 2026).

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6. THE TREASURE TROVE OF BRAIN TRIVIA

A. Jimothy, a Seattle raccoon born with a short spine, has made headlines across the world. Read about Jimothy here: https://tinyurl.com/y8nfwejb.

B. Actor Danny Glover has revealed that he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease (Source: https://tinyurl.com/yvumhnk4).

C. Going to museums, movies, and the theater may help keep the body young (Source: Matsuyama, Y., et al., Cultural engagement and physiological ageing: a fixed-effects analysis, J. Epidemiol. Community Health, Published Online First: July 14, 2026).

D. Bumble bees can solve problems that they have never encountered before (Source: Akshaye, A., et al., Spontaneous problem-solving in bumble bees, Science, 392: 6802. 2026).

E. A "Backwards Brain Bicycle" has been built with a design so that the bars turn in the opposite direction of the wheel (Watch a YouTube video with the creator of the bike: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFzDaBzBlL0). Do you think you could ride this bike?

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7. EMAIL CHANGES

With the start of the new school year, many people change their email address. If your email address will change and you would still like to receive this newsletter, please let me know your new email address (chudler@uw.edu).

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8. SUPPORT NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS

To ensure that Neuroscience for Kids stays available, we need your help. All contributions to Neuroscience for Kids are tax deductible (subject to IRS regulations). If you would like to donate to Neuroscience for Kids, please visit:

Help Neuroscience for Kids

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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)