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Five more stories complete the 3rd Frontiers for Young Minds collection of stories by Nobel Laureates

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A January 31, 2024 Frontiers (publishers) news release on EurekAlert announces more stories by Nobel Laureates for volume 3 of Frontiers for Young Minds,

Frontiers for Young Minds, a non-profit, open-access scientific journal for kids, has published five new articles written by Nobel Prize-winners. The articles complete the third volume of the Nobel collection, bringing the number of featured Laureates and their discoveries to 30.  

The authors were awarded the Nobel Prize for their contributions to the fields of economics, physiology, and medicine. Within each article, the authors explain their ground-breaking work and the practical or future applications of their science.  

The articles are:  

  • Game Theory— More Than Just Games, written by Robert Aumann, awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2005.  
    Game theory is not just about games. It deals with real-life situations like business, politics, war, or even sharing donuts. Robert Aumann enhanced conflict resolution using game theory – the logic which helps us understand how to improve our decisions, specifically in situations where people might disagree.  
  • Can We Use Math to Design a Brighter Future? written by Eric Maskin, awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2007.  
    Math helps to develop new technologies and engineering techniques that advance our society. Eric Maskin laid the foundations of mechanism design theory, a branch of economics that can shape economies to reach social goals such as reducing pollution and establishing fair voting systems. 
  • T Killer T Cells: Immune System Heroes, written by Peter Doherty, awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1996.  
    Our immune system keeps our body healthy by fighting microbes and protecting us from infections. Peter Doherty discovered how the immune system recognizes virus-infected cells and the clever way our T-cells identify and kill them. This knowledge could develop new treatments for autoimmune diseases and cancer. 
  • Can Grid Cells Help Us Understand the Brain? written by Edvard Moser, awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2014.  
    Grid cells are special brain cells that play a key role in the brain’s navigation system. Edvard Moser co-discovered that these cells generate a positioning system that allows us to navigate our environment and estimate distance. Rapidly developing research on grid cells could eventually help us understand how cognition works. 
  • Hot Chili Peppers Help Uncover the Secrets of Pain, written by David Julius, awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2021.  
    Receptors are small sensing structures present on cell membranes that react to stimuli from the environment or from within the body. David Julius identified a sensor in the nerve endings of the skin that responds to pain and heat. Using chili peppers to study how receptors relate to pain could help develop better drugs for intense and long-term (chronic) pain. 

Launched in 2013, Frontiers for Young Minds publishes accessible and engaging articles in collaboration with exceptional researchers to inspire the next generation of scientists. It provides reliable and up-to-date information on various topics in science, including in technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM). The unique Frontiers for Young Minds review process gives kids confidence and communication skills to engage with leading researchers worldwide and empowers them to ask questions and think critically before they validate the scientific information they read.  

Commenting on the new articles, head of program Laura Henderson says: “Since launching our Nobel Collection volume 1 in 2021, we have been blown away by the impact it has made. With over 1.8 million views and downloads worldwide, we are reaching science enthusiasts all over the world as part of our mission to inspire and engage kids with accessible scientific content. To now have a total of 30 Nobel Prize winners helping us to communicate scientific concepts to young minds is a huge achievement for all our team. I look forward to reaching even more young learners with these articles and our new partner collections coming later this year.” 

Discover all the Nobel Collections here: 

Volume one 
Volume two 
Volume three 

The first half of Volume three was announced here in my November 9, 2023 posting.

3rd Frontiers for Young Minds collection of stories by Nobel Laureates

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Frontiers publishes peer-reviewed, open access, scientific journals and materials for children through their children’s magazine, “Frontiers for Young Minds” (see my November 18, 2013 post about the magazine’s inception) and The Nobel Collection featuring science stories for children written by Nobel laureates (see my February 22, 2022 post for the first collection and my June 9, 2023 post for the second collection.

Caption: Frontiers for Young Minds Nobel Collection Volume 3 Credit: Frontiers

Here’s news about Frontiers’ third ‘The Nobel Collection’ from a September 20, 2023 Frontiers news release on EurekAlert,

Frontiers for Young Minds, an award-winning, non-profit, open-access scientific journal for kids, has released the third volume of its Nobel Collection today. The new volume features five articles on topics from using a glowing protein found in jellyfish to understand cell function to studying the smallest units of matter. Prior to publication, the distinguished scientists worked with young reviewers aged 8-15 to ensure their articles were interesting and understandable for young readers. 

Launched in 2013, Frontiers for Young Minds inspires the next generation of scientists by making science accessible and engaging for young people. It provides reliable and up-to-date information on various topics in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM). Through a unique review process, kids engage in dialogue with leading researchers worldwide, empowering the young reviewers with a better understanding not only of the science of the article, but of the scientific process and the importance of validating information. While learning about the world around them, young reviewers develop confidence, critical thinking, and communication skills. 

The Nobel Collection is a special series of articles by Nobel Laureates. This third volume of the collection is an exciting new, educational installment for children and adults alike. The first and second volumes of the collection consist of 10 articles each, covering topics from discovering life on other planets to superfluids that defy gravity.  

In this latest release, the scientists share their insights on the following topics: 

  • The Quirky Lives of Quarks: A Close Look into Matter, written by David Gross, awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2004.  
    Atoms are small units of matter that create everything we see. Inside atoms there are subatomic particles such as protons and neutrons, which compose the nucleus of the atom. Protons and neutrons are themselves composed of even smaller units called quarks. David Gross discovered how these quarks interact, explaining why the attraction force between them gets weaker as they get closer together and stronger as they move further apart. 
  • Molecular Flashlights that Light Up Science, written by Martin Chalfie, awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2008.  
    Green fluorescent protein (GPF) is a tiny glowing molecule that was originally found in glowing jellyfish. Martin Chalfie developed a way to use GFP as a marker that scientists can use to learn what is going on inside cells and organisms. Since his breakthrough, GFP was used in many different studies, helping scientists understand how cells work, how certain viruses cause diseases, and how proteins fold. 
  • The Ribosome – The Factory for Protein Production According to the Genetic Code, written by Ada Yonath, awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2009.  
    Proteins are small biological machines that work in our bodies as well as in the bodies of all animals, plants, viruses, and bacteria. They are produced by a protein production ‘factory’ in cells called the ribosome. Ada Yonath developed a method for studying the structure and function of ribosomes. This method could be used to study how antibiotics work and improve them.  
  • The Secrets of Secretion: Protein Transport in Cells, written by Randy Schekman, awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2013.  
    Cells release substances to the blood and to other cells via a process called secretion. For a substance to be secreted, it needs to travel between different stations within the cell and then cross the outer envelope of the cell called a membrane. This travel of a substance within and outside a cell is performed by small carriers called vesicles, which are like little cars that take a passenger substance to its destination. Randy Schekman identified different stations that this ‘car’ goes through within the cell, and significantly contributed to understanding the whole pathway of this fundamental process of secretion. 
  • Seeing Beyond the Limits with Super-Resolution Microscopy, written by Eric Betzig, awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2014.  
    Scientists often want to look at very small objects in order to study them. For many years it was believed that we cannot look with visible light on objects that are smaller than a fundamental property of light called its wavelength (the distance between two peaks in the light wave). Eric Betzig was able to break that limit using a method based on glowing molecules that are attached to the object scientists want to study. This paved the way for scientists to look at objects they could never see before. 

The third volume will expand with more Nobel Laureate authors later this year, providing young readers the opportunity to learn even more about important discoveries. 

Commenting on the new volume, Frontiers for Young Minds head of program Laura Henderson says: “It’s wonderful to now have three volumes of our Nobel collection and so many Nobelist authors joining us to provide kids with access to their work. We want to ensure all science enthusiasts can read Nobel Prize-winning scientific concepts. With over 1.5 million reads and downloads of the articles in volumes one and two, I can’t wait to see volume three inspire our young readers even more.” 

To find out more, watch this video. [29 secs. runtime]

Enjoy!

Second Nobel Collection of science stories for children

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The first collection of science stories for children by Nobel laureates was published in September 2021 (featured in my February 22, 2022 posting). This time I’m getting the news out a little later. From a January 31, 2023 Frontiers (publisher) news release (also on EurekAlert),

Frontiers for Young Minds, a unique, completely free kids’ science journal launched its second Nobel Collection today. It features five new articles in which top scientists connected directly with young reviewers to ensure their articles are clear, educational, and fascinating to read for young people before they were published in the journal. 

This is the second volume within the Nobel Collection, with articles written by Nobel Laureates and reviewed by children aged 8 to 15. It promises to be an exciting and educational experience for both kids and adults alike. Volume 1, which is complete, already showcases 10 amazing Nobel Prize-winning authors, writing about their world-changing discoveries in fields from neuroscience to crystallography, from computer simulations to behavioral economics.  

This time, highly valued Nobelists provide insights and inspiration from their amazing work on the following topics: 

  • The Olfactory System: It Smells Good to Be Alive, written by Richard Axel, awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2004. How many odors (smells) in the world around you do you think you can recognize? In this article, find out how your brain recognizes different odors and why they cause different reactions in different animals and people. 
  • Telomere Power: How to live longer and heathier, written by Elizabeth Blackburn, awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2009. Did you know that things you do daily – exercise, eating, even how you think – can change the very basic units within your cells? Dive into the fascinating world of telomeres, the protectors of DNA, and telomerase which maintains them, and be amazed by how environmental and social factors can affect your biology! 
  • Resolution Revolution – Seeing the Molecules of Life with Electron Cryomicroscopy, written by Richard Henderson (with Noa Segev), awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2017. Did you know how powerful imaging techniques must be in order to show structural biologists the basic building blocks of life? Find out how the search for molecular structure (in humans, animals, plants and tiny microorganisms) was revolutionized by a new technique in electron cryomicroscopy, where electrons go through cooled microscope specimens. 
  • Defying Gravity? On The Magic Tricks of Superfluids, written by Michael Kosterlitz, awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2016. Did you know that physics can solve puzzles in our world, from how the wind blows to rare and mysterious phenomena? Join a Nobel-winning journey to discover how a normal fluid is cooled down and becomes a superfluid – and the cool things it can then do! 
  • Neutrinos: The Ghost Particles that Make Up Our Universe – written by Arthur B. McDonald, awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2015. Want to know more about how the universe started and how it works? Then you’ll need this article, featuring a breakthrough in measuring neutrino particles, a fundamental building block of the universe, and what this can tell us about how the universe has evolved since the Big Bang. 

The Volume 2 series of Laureate authors will continue to grow later this year, giving young people more opportunities to understand – and ignite interest in – the biggest discoveries of our times.  

Commenting on the new volume, spokesperson for Frontiers for Young Minds Laura Henderson says, “It’s amazing to see this incredible initiative continue to grow and grow. With over 100 million people seeing Volume 1 on social media, we can’t wait to see what Volume 2 will achieve. The generosity and support of our Nobelist authors mean that their extraordinary work can now be read by all young people, anywhere in the world.” 

Frontiers for Young Minds journal makes science accessible to children around the world and is a great resource for anyone who wants to learn more about science and research. With articles written by Nobel laureates and reviewed by kids, it provides a unique perspective on science and how it affects our daily lives. Whether you are a child or an adult, the Collection offers a valuable and enjoyable way to explore the wonders of science. 

To find out more, watch this video.   [see below news release]

To explore the Nobel Collection Volume 2 articles, click here.  

For Volume 1, click here. 

About Frontiers for Young Minds    

Frontiers for Young Minds (FYM) is a unique, completely free, open access kids’ science journal that publishes articles written by top researchers and peer reviewed by children aged 8-15. The journal features over 1,100 articles with over 32 million views and downloads, produced by 3,250 authors, mentored by 800+ scientists and reviewed by 6,100+ youngsters from 64 countries worldwide. FYM now publishes in seven subject areas (Astronomy and Physics, Biodiversity, Chemistry and Materials, Earth & its Resources, Human Health, Mathematics, Neuroscience & Psychology – with Engineering and Technology to come soon) with materials available in English, Hebrew and Arabic, and with Mandarin Chinese and French to come in 2023. FYM was featured as a Winner of the Falling Walls Science Engagement category in 2022 – watch the pitch here. The Nobel initiative is part of Frontiers’ commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and Goal 4 – Quality Education in particular.  

About Frontiers     

Frontiers is the 3rd most-cited and 6th largest research publisher. We publish groundbreaking discoveries by the world’s top experts. Scientists empower society and our mission is to accelerate scientific discovery by making science open. We place the researcher at the center of everything we do and enable the research community to develop the solutions we need to live healthy lives on a healthy planet. Featuring custom-built technology, artificial intelligence, and rigorous quality standards, our research articles have been viewed more than 2.3 billion times, reflecting the power of research that is open for all.