Brain Awareness Week 2021
15th - 21st March
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I was delighted to be part of this year's incredible Brain Awareness Week programme of events. To celebrate all things brain, I've made not one but TWO new zones for the Safari, as well as some videos to explain a bit about what they're all about. If you're itching to just download the new world file, head on the the Downloads page! But otherwise, stick around here and find out more about the new zones and watch the videos!
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New Zone #1:
Experimental Zone
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Have you ever wondered how we find out about how you remember things? Working out what experiments will help us understand memory has been a big job for nearly 100 years now in neuroscience. Some of those experiments involve giving mice and rats a series of puzzles they have to solve. How they solve those puzzles tells us a little bit about how they explore their world, and also how they learn and remember things.
In this zone, you are going to the be the mouse/rat! I've built two different types of experiment that are really different from one another. The first is called the Water Maze. Now, there is water(!), but its not really a maze. Imagine being put into a HUGE swimming pool with no ladder to get out. The only way to escape is to find a hidden platform somewhere in the water. The first time you try, you might find it take a long time to find! But, if you do it again...well, try it and find out!
The second experiment is the Event Arena. Now again, it's more just a big open space than an arena, but events do happen there! (No rat concerts or mice dances though :( ). This one involves food, and how you remember where food is in a big space. Now the real experiment is a little tricky to do, but if you follow the video below I'll tell you how to do it!
In this zone, you are going to the be the mouse/rat! I've built two different types of experiment that are really different from one another. The first is called the Water Maze. Now, there is water(!), but its not really a maze. Imagine being put into a HUGE swimming pool with no ladder to get out. The only way to escape is to find a hidden platform somewhere in the water. The first time you try, you might find it take a long time to find! But, if you do it again...well, try it and find out!
The second experiment is the Event Arena. Now again, it's more just a big open space than an arena, but events do happen there! (No rat concerts or mice dances though :( ). This one involves food, and how you remember where food is in a big space. Now the real experiment is a little tricky to do, but if you follow the video below I'll tell you how to do it!
New Zone #2:
Blood Brain Barrier Zone
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In the rest of Neuron Safari, we see where the brain sits in the skull, all hidden away and protected. But did you know it has even more, slightly squishier protection? The brain is kept separate from the rest of your body, and a lot of effort is made to make sure that the only things that can reach the brain are things the brain needs. The brain gets most of these things from the blood, which transports them all across the outside of the brain.
The problem is, how do you know what is good, and what is bad? Most of these things are tiny. Really tiny. So you need some way of letting them in carefully. Your body is very clever, and has devised a few different ways of getting things into the brain while still keeping most things out. In this zone, you'll be helping out some of these tiny things get in past some of the fiendish traps and puzzles that stand in their way! Can you help them reach their goal, and keep the brain happy and healthy?
This Zone is still in development, so keep checking back for updates and upgrades over the next few weeks!
The problem is, how do you know what is good, and what is bad? Most of these things are tiny. Really tiny. So you need some way of letting them in carefully. Your body is very clever, and has devised a few different ways of getting things into the brain while still keeping most things out. In this zone, you'll be helping out some of these tiny things get in past some of the fiendish traps and puzzles that stand in their way! Can you help them reach their goal, and keep the brain happy and healthy?
This Zone is still in development, so keep checking back for updates and upgrades over the next few weeks!
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About FENS |
The Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) are an organisation dedicated to promoting research collaborations and education in neuroscience to people across Europe. Along with the Dana Foundation, they help fund projects (like this one!) for Brain Awareness Week, which might be the reason you are reading this in the first place!
I am very grateful to FENS for providing me with the funds to upgrade Neuron Safari even further and make some awesome videos both now and into the future. If you want to know more about FENS, please watch the videos and go to the links below!
I am very grateful to FENS for providing me with the funds to upgrade Neuron Safari even further and make some awesome videos both now and into the future. If you want to know more about FENS, please watch the videos and go to the links below!
https://www.fens.org/
https://www.fens.org/Outreach/FENS-Brain-Awareness-Week/
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