Three Share Nobel Prize for Discovering Brain’s Navigation
Vocabulary
Direction: Read each word and let the student repeat it.
inner
[ɪnər] (adjective)
– inside; towards or close to the centre of a place
ex.An inner voice told him that what he was doing was wrong.
[ɪnər] (adjective)
– inside; towards or close to the centre of a place
ex.An inner voice told him that what he was doing was wrong.
laureate
[lɒriət] (noun)
– a person who has been given an official honour or prize for something important they have achieved
ex.The Nobel laureate will receive a prize of $1.1 million.
[lɒriət] (noun)
– a person who has been given an official honour or prize for something important they have achieved
ex.The Nobel laureate will receive a prize of $1.1 million.
environment
[ɪnˈvaɪrənmənt] (noun)
– the conditions that affect the behaviour and development of somebody/something; the physical conditions that somebody/something exists in
ex.We should take better care of our environment by protecting the forests.
[ɪnˈvaɪrənmənt] (noun)
– the conditions that affect the behaviour and development of somebody/something; the physical conditions that somebody/something exists in
ex.We should take better care of our environment by protecting the forests.
grid
[ɡrɪd] (noun)
– a pattern of straight lines, usually crossing each other to form squares
ex.Rio de Janeiro has a very interesting street grid.
[ɡrɪd] (noun)
– a pattern of straight lines, usually crossing each other to form squares
ex.Rio de Janeiro has a very interesting street grid.
evidence
[evɪdəns] (noun)
– the facts, signs or objects that make you believe that something is true
ex.The evidence against him was overwhelming, so he was sentenced to 5 years in prison.
[evɪdəns] (noun)
– the facts, signs or objects that make you believe that something is true
ex.The evidence against him was overwhelming, so he was sentenced to 5 years in prison.
Article
Direction: Read each paragraph and let the student repeat it.
Three Share Nobel Prize for Discovering Brain’s Navigation
American-British scientist John O’Keefe and Norwegians May-Britt Moser and Edvard Moser have won the Nobel Prize in medicine for their work in discovering the brain’s inner navigation system.The Nobel Assembly at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute said Monday the laureates answered the question of how the brain maps spaces and allows beings to move through complex environments.O’Keefe, director of the Sainsbury Wellcome Center in Neural Circuits and Behavior at University College London, discovered the mapping mechanism in 1971 by observing the way certain nerve cells activated in a rat’s brain when it was in one part of a room and how other nerve cells activated in a different part.In 2005, the Mosers, who are married, identified another type of cell in a nearby part of a rat’s brain that creates a grid system and connects with the mapping cells to make up the brain’s positioning system.Further research has shown evidence these same types of cells exist in human brains.The Nobel panel says the discoveries have opened new ways to understand other mental activities, including memory, thinking and planning.The award comes with a $1.1 million prize, with half going to O’Keefe and the Mosers splitting the other half.On Tuesday, the Nobel prize in physics will be awarded, followed by the chemistry prize on Wednesday, literature on Thursday and the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday.
Questions
Direction: Ask the students the questions, and give the answers.
- 1Why were the three scientists awarded the Nobel Prize?
- 2According to the article, what question did they answer?
- 3How did John O’Keefe discover the mapping mechanism?
- 4What did the Nobel panel say about the new discoveries?
- 5What amount of money do the winners of the Nobel Prize receive?
They “have won the Nobel Prize in medicine for their work in discovering the brain’s inner navigation system.”
“The question of how the brain maps spaces and allows beings to move through complex environments.”
“By observing the way certain nerve cells activated in a rat’s brain when it was in one part of a room and how other nerve cells activated in a different part.”
“The discoveries have opened new ways to understand other mental activities, including memory, thinking and planning.”
$1.1 million
Discussion
Direction: Discuss the topics.
- 1How important do you think the Nobel Prize is to the scientific community?
- 2Do you know if a person from your country has ever won the Nobel Prize?
- 3Which Nobel Prize do you think is the most important? Why? (peace, medicine, physics, chemistry, literature, economic sciences)
Follow-up question1: Are you interested in finding out who are the Nobel Prize winners each year? Why or why not?
Follow-up question2: Do you think that the reward given by the Nobel committee should be larger? Why or why not?
Follow-up question2: Do you think that the reward given by the Nobel committee should be larger? Why or why not?
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