No clowning around.No joke: Learning to juggle can cause changes in human brain structure, say researchers at the University of Regensburg The University of Regensburg, situated in Regensburg, in Bavaria, Germany, was founded on July 18 1962 by the Bavarian parliament. Bavaria's fourth university saw its first lectures during the 1967-68 winter semester , initially housing a faculty of Law and Business Sciences as in Germany. At the start of their study, the scientists performed brain scans on 24 volunteers with no juggling ability. Then they gave half the group three months to learn how to juggle three balls a pawnbroker's sign or shop. See also: Ball for at least 60 seconds. After the practice period, brain scans of the 12 jugglers showed more gray matter--brain tissue related to processing information--than scans of the nonjugglers. The catch: When the jugglers stopped tossing the balls for another three months, the, amount of gray matter returned to normal. "Our results, challenge our view of the human central nervous system (brain and spinal cord spinal cord, the part of the nervous system occupying the hollow interior (vertebral canal) of the series of vertebrae that form the spinal column, technically known as the vertebral column. )," says lead researcher Arne May. Traditionally, scientists have believed that the adult brain does not change after new experiences. May suspects that juggling could change how brain cells are made or connected. He hopes his studies will eventually help treat brain diseases. Resources For more information related to this issue's news stories, check out the following Web sites: No Clowning Around Students can learn more about the brain and its functions at Neuroscience neu·ro·sci·ence n. Any of the sciences, such as neuroanatomy and neurobiology, that deal with the nervous system. neuroscience the embryology, anatomy, physiology, biochemistry and pharmacology of the nervous system. for Kids. Cheek out: http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/neurok.html Sneaky Squid Visit the San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. Natural History Museum's Web site to find out how glowing creatures pull off their light tricks: www.sdnhm.org/kids/lightsalive/ Taxing Sacks Did you know that almost 90 percent of floating marine debris Marine debris usually applies to floating waste such as bottles, cans, styrofoam, cruise ship waste, offshore oil and gas exploration and production facilities pollution, and fishing paraphernalia from professional and recreational boaters. Marine debris is also called litter. is plastic? Learn more about ocean pollution by taking a quiz at the California Coastal Commission's Web site: www.coastal.ca.gov/publiced/youth/coastalquiz.html Scratch and Sniff To discover the chemistry behind fruit ripening ripening said of meat. See curing. , read: http://plantphys.info/plants_human/fruitgrowripe.html Out of Whack Earth is tilted at a 23.5-degree angle. That's one reason for the planet's seasons. Learn more at: www.bbc.co.uk/science/space/solarsystem/earth/solsticescience.shtml |
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