Herding Cats

Hello again- it's me- Pipper the Scientist Cat! Even though cats are considered pretty solitary creatures, today we are going to talk about herds- everyone likes to be pack of a pack! 

Specifically I'll be sharing resources that can help you, your teachers, and mom or dad learn about herd immunity. The immune system is the collection of cells inside your body that's responsible for fighting off disease (colds, flu, even more serious conditions- scientists are working on understanding how immune cells can help fight cancer!). Herd immunity is the idea that once your immune system is able to protect you from a strain of virus (for example the cold you got last year!), your friend is more protected to! If you are less likely to come down with the bug, then the folks around you are less likely to be exposed to it! When this concept (idea) works on a population level (lots and lots of people) we call it herd immunity! 

Here are my favorite resources for the week: 

1. Experiments you can do at home or with friends: https://askabiologist.asu.edu/experiments/let-germs-begin 

2. To watch with mom + dad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7DGeWlKu0Q 

3. For teachers: https://vaccinemakers.org/lessons 

For a laugh: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_MaJDK3VNE 

I'm herding out for now! As always, never stop learning + exploring! 

💙-Pipper the Scientist Cat 

Brainy Business

It's me again- Pipper the Scientist Cat- here to give you the skinny on some more resources! Today we're increasing the magnification (zooming in) on neuroscience! That's the study of brain: the cells that comprise it (make it up), how those cells talk to each other, and what they do on a daily/hourly/minutely(?) basis (how they function).

As you can see from my first video recommendation- anyone can learn about neuroscience: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUCcsMmZVec 

Remember: Science is for everyone! 

After scowering the vast internet, here are the resources I'd like to recommend to you!

1.  For fun experiment kits that will show you how to model brain activity with electrical signals: https://backyardbrains.com/ 

2. For parents to read: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4380310/

3. For older children to read: http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/neurok.html

4. For everyone: check out Brain Awareness Week (typically held in March!) events in your area- local universities usually host interactive, education session with scientists and scientist-in-training (postdoctoral researchers and graduate students) for folks of all ages! Find activities happening near you: http://dana.org/BAW/

As always- never stop learning and exploring! As another famous cat would say- TTFN!

 

Pip's podcast recommendation

Being just one scientist cat, you can imagine I am not an expert in everything- although I'd like to be. So to make sure your exploration of the world of science not limited by my own **expertise** (know-how, interests, preferences, etc, etc) I'll be compiling (putting together) lists of resources I recommend!

Here is a great podcast I'd like to recommend- it's perfect for long, boring car rides (cats hate rides in the car):

https://app.kidslisten.org/pod/Tumble-Science-Podcast-for-Kids  

As always, never stop learning + exploring!

<3

-Pip the Scientist cat



Next Week from Pip the Scientist cat:
Cats, as you probably know, are highly independent creatures; part of my mission to compile helpful resources to help you to do science independently too: all on your own!
Next week from Pip the cat: more great resources on EXPERIMENTS you can do at home!

About Me

Hello! It is I- Pipper the Scientist Cat! As you can tell from my white coat- I'm a scientist.

                                             (oh hello there)

I've studied lots of subjects here are some of my favorites that I hope to share with you!

• Neuroscience (studying brains!)
• Psychology (studying minds!)
• Nutrition (studying food!)
• Biotechnology (studying medicines!)
• Medicine (studying health and the human body!)

But no matter what you study, being a scientist is about experimenting, learning, and teaching! My job is to make learning about science fun, and helping you find cool resources that you can use to explore more science- whether it's on your own, with your brother or sister, or with mom or dad.  

Have you ever heard of story Alice and Wonderland? Alice follows the white rabbit on an adventure and learns a lot along the way! Consider this your very own adventure! Just follow me- the white cat! So grab your white coat- let's get started!