An Ancient Marvel

By Jack Novak, Age 10

     
                      Blink! Breathe! Burp! Thanks to your brain you can do all of these things. Your fascinating brain is made up of billions of miniature cells that are responsible for life itself. The brain, along with the spinal cord, is part of the central nervous system. Each part of the brain has specialized features that perform specific functions.  The brain weighs three pounds and controls all the body’s activities. It is efficiently protected by the twenty-eight bones that make up our skull because it is so soft that you can push your finger through it with almost no pressure at all. The brain is divided into two principal hemispheres and is wrapped in three outer membranes called meninges. Safely placed under the meninges are the cerebral cortex, cerebellum, brain stem, thalamus and hypothalamus. These are the most important features of the brain that perform the specialized functions needed for our lives. This marvel we call the brain, while small, is the most powerful ‘computer’ ever known to man relaying all the messages needed for life.
                  The structure and function of the cerebral cortex is one of the brains special features that make humans different from other animals. The cerebral cortex covers the entire brain and is called gray matter. As it is the most advanced part of the brain it is called “the thinking brain” because it stores thoughts and memories. It is also responsible for voluntary movement, language, reasoning and perception. Fittingly, cortex in Latin means bark; the tissues of the cortex makes up the outer layer that protects the brain almost like the bark of a tree. The thickness of the cortex is about two to six millimeters. The left and right sides of the cortex are connected by nerve fibers that are called the corpus callosum. Within the cerebral cortex are many bumps called gyrus and many grooves called sulcus.  The cerebral cortex is not just important because it is the largest part of the brain but because of its specialized functions.
                  At the base of the brain, under the back of the cerebrum is another specialized structure called the cerebellum. Cerebellum is Latin for little brain. Although it has wrinkles and a cortex which is similar to the cerebral cortex it serves different purposes. It coordinates movement, motions, balance, and posture. The cerebellum makes sure the body works together and has more nerves than any other part of the brain. It acts as an autopilot when doing things that require coordination. The cerebellum monitors messages from the cortex to the brain and then the brain makes the body obey the command. The cerebellum is the size of a golf ball and has the shape of a broccoli floret. Nearly in the center of the cerebellum is the basal ganglia, a group of nerves, that acts like a set of brakes keeping the body and brain from going out of control. The specialized functions of the cerebellum interpret information allowing brain functions to be automatic.  
                  Another important structure of the brain is the brain stem which lies between the spinal cord and the thalamus. It is three inches wide, about as thick as your thumb, and shaped like a funnel. The brain stem serves as an entrance and exit to the brain. The brain stem is called the “reptilian brain” because it is similar to the brains of lizards and fish. Within the brain stem are the pons, medulla, tectum, reticular formation, and the tegmentum. The brain stem handles things that you are not aware of such as pumping your heart, breathing, and blood pressure. In other words it efficiently manages all your basic functions and it keeps you alive without you even thinking about it. It contains the most cranial nerves which are responsible for all movement in your head such as: eye movement, coughing, swallowing food, and shutting out the world when you are asleep. It connects the brain to the cerebrum and spinal cord. All messages must pass to and from the brain stem. Since you are receiving millions of bits of information all the time you could easily become overwhelmed and confused but usually are not because the reticular formation in the brain stem sorts out what is important and what is not. Unknowingly, the valuable structure of the brain stem works for us at all times and we couldn’t live without its specialized functions.
                  The thalamus is another valuable brain structure located between the two cerebral hemispheres. The thalamus, which means inner room in Latin, is the place that first receives messages from sensory nerves. It operates as a kind of relay station between the spinal cord and the cerebrum. Surprisingly, it is a receptor for most senses like taste, sight, feel, touch, and sound, but not for smell. Inside the thalamus, sense receptors send messages between the cerebral cortex and the spinal cord as the first stop of their journey to the brain. Although many describe the thalamus as looking like two footballs that are connected by a bridge others say it looks like a blown up letter H. The thalamus, a remarkable area between hemispheres, keeps the body moving smoothly and methodically while we go about our day and is necessary for maintaining a normal life.
                  For controlling functions such as hunger, thirst, body temperature, emotions, and circadian rhythms you should generally look to the brain structure known as the hypothalamus. It is located at the base of the brain under the thalamus and is only the size of a pea. It works with the automonic nervous system to regulate the functions that are automatic in our body. When you are thirsty your hypothalamus is at work. Are you feeling afraid? If you are, that is your hypothalamus warning you of danger. Although you may not even know it, the rhythm of your heart beat is being controlled by your tiny hypothalamus. The hypothalamus is connected to the pituitary gland which is the most important gland in the endocrine system. The endocrine system regulates growth and other important processes. Hypo means under and hypothalamus means under the inner room in Latin. Especially small, the hypothalamus might appear unimportant but it controls many of the most important centers of our body.  
                  While only the size of your two fists held together the brain is bigger in importance than imaginable. In fact, it is the most complicated object in the universe which controls many systems in your body. The most important structures of the brain are the cerebral cortex, cerebellum, brain stem, thalamus and hypothalamus. Mysteriously the specialized features in the brain work together without any conscious effort on our part. Floating, in a clear liquid and wrapped in thin tissue the brain is always working to support our life. Within our skull lies a jelly like sponge that is the primary unit of life making humans different from any other living thing. The brain is responsible for allowing us to experience life as we know it. Bow! Bounce! Belch! Thanks to our marvelous brain with its many specialized features and functions we can do all of these things and much more.                    
                   

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Daring Was His Middle Name
By Kayley Janae Baxter

Standing in front of an open window, an elderly man gazed out across London and watched different people as they moved past. Couples slowly walked in the moonlight, hand in hand, men and women casually strolled along, relaxing after a long day of hard work. Others moved more quickly, hurrying to get home for whatever reason. The man pondered this. How, he wondered, could these people move on with their lives and simply ignore what was happening around them? How could they forget that across the channel, families were torn apart, never to see each other again, men, women, and children murdered simply because they were Jews? How could they forget that in Europe whole countries were being annexed to the Third Reich, and their people lived in constant fear of being arrested and beaten and perhaps even killed for some slight offense? How could they ignore the fact that at Germany's helm stood a madman whose thirst for power, land, and blood would not be quenched by a few European countries? Was it because their families had not been split apart and murdered? Was it because they had not yet felt the pangs of fear that come when you look up and see a grinning devil coming towards with a knife in his upraised hand? Was it because the Union Jack still flew above their soil and not that twisted cross? Turning with a sigh, Winston slowly rambled across the room. He knew, now, why God had spared his life so many times. He was needed now for a much larger purpose, to save his country. On November 30, 1874, a little boy was born in Blenhiem Palace, Oxfordshire
England. His name was Winston Churchill. Although his parents didn't know it, and I'm sure he didn't look it, this tiny baby would become one of the most famous men in history, a man who became known for his bulldog tenacity and who had both the will and the daring to stand up to and eventually defeat, along with his allies, one of the greatest terrors Europe and the world had ever known. Where did this determination come from and how did it impact his becoming and serving as the Prime Minister two separate terms? While his childhood was far from perfect, this time served to develop in Winston qualities that would serve not only himself, but in later years people all over the world who loved freedom. Extremely wealthy and aristocratic, Churchill came from a noble family, descended from the 7th Duke of Marlborough. His father was Lord Randolph, a conservative politician who had married Jennie Jerome, an American heiress. As a boy, he was independent and rebellious, did poorly in his schoolwork, for which he was often punished, and his stubbornness and high spirits annoyed everyone. He practiced being tough due to his difficulties with other children (Kurtis par. yr, 1882). He stood in fear and wonder of his father, who had little time and little affection for his son. Unfortunately, his mother, whom he loved dearly had little time for him either; however his nanny, Mrs. Everest, did show him much affection, and the adventure stories she read aloud to him created in Winston a life-long love for books. On April 17, 1888, he went to Harrow school, where he joined the Military Rifle Corps within weeks of his arrival. Even though Latin and Greek were the enemies he couldn't conquer, he did well in English and history, and he developed an even greater love love for the English language. Later in his life he said, in reference to his life at Harrow, “I got into my bones the essential structure of the ordinary English sentence” (Thompson 546). This helped him immensely during his years in Parliament and as Prime Minister. Eventually, he went to the Royal Military College at Sandhurst where he studied to become an officer.
As events in his life later showed, his life experiences and education as a boy and young man prepared him for what he would face in the future. As it turned out, it would be one of the most horrible times in history that would bring about Winston Churchill becoming Prime Minister of England. When Hitler came to power in Germany and began rebuilding his army and air force and navy, which was against the Treaty of Versailles, few paid any attention. Churchill, who at the moment was in Parliament and had gained a reputation for doing what no one expected, predicted that he was up to no good. Even before Hitler rose to power, Churchill revealed his insight and toughness by a comment he made about Hitler potentially gaining political control: “If a dog makes a dash for my trousers, I shoot him down before he can bite” (Manchester 84). Unfortunately, nobody likes a Jeremiah, so
nobody, except perhaps a very few, listened to him. After a few years, Hitler started grabbing countries like Churchill predicted he would, and still everyone turned a blind eye. Finally, after Hitler invaded Poland in September of 1939 and hundreds of lives had been sacrificed for the good of the mighty Third Reich, France and England declared war. Because of Hitler's vastly superior army and air force, things did not go very well. The English decided to invade Norway, which was German occupied at the moment. That was a disaster. Without the navy they would have been destroyed. After the disastrous invasion of Norway, England lost all confidence in Prime Minister Chamberlain, and he resigned. Naturally, a new Prime Minister was needed, and Chamberlain recommended Churchill, who was Lord of the Admiralty at the time, for the job. Finally, Churchill's bulldog tenacity and insight were being recognized and called for. It was quite possibly the best decision Chamberlain ever made. As soon as he was in office in 1940, Churchill rolled up his sleeves and got to work. Perhaps his greatest achievement during the war was his refusal to capitulate. Although defeat by Germany seemed a strong possibility and all seemed hopeless, he
refused to give in. Bombing London seemed to Hitler one of the best ways to break England's back. Continually, day and night, the Luftwaffe bombed London along with numerous ports along the coast. Surprisingly, the RAF (Royal Air Force), although dreadfully outnumbered, managed to fight back and eventually, after a long and difficult struggle, which was called the “Battle of Britain”, come out on top and win. Churchill, in one his speeches, said of the RAF, “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few” (Thompson 548). Throughout the Battle of Britain, Churchill could be seen in the streets of London, even with bombs falling all around him, visiting RAF headquarters, coastal defenses, victims of air raids, and it was during these times that he became famous for holding up two of his fingers in the “V” for victory sign. After Pearl Harbor was bombed, the U.S. Joined the Allies, and then Russia hopped in when it was attacked by Germany. In Yalta, Ukraine, the “Big Three”, as Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin were called, met together to hold the Yalta Conference. The Yalta Declaration was declared, which was, basically, the destruction of German militarism and Nazism. Although it ended well, Churchill, who got along well with Roosevelt but disliked and distrusted Stalin, had misgivings about Stalin's ambitions in Eastern Europe. As it turned out, he was right. While the UN was being established, Stalin completely took over Eastern Europe, and instead of allowing the different countries' free elections he annexed them to Russia and the word freedom was wiped
out of the dictionary. Although Churchill lost his seat as Prime Minister after the war, he continued to work hard for his country, as he had when Hitler came to power, and eventually, in 1951, became Prime Minister again. When the conservatives came to power in England in 1951, 77 year old Winston Churchill became Prime Minister for the second time. Immediately, he began trying to renew a special relationship between Britain and the U.S. He wanted to make it possible for people to travel between Britain and the U.S. without passports. Continually, however, domestic affairs were overshadowed by problematic foreign affairs, because of the decline of British military and imperial prestige and power. The Mau Mau rebellion and the Malayan emergency were some of those crisis'. In April, 1953, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, and made a knight of the Order of the
Garter, Britain's oldest order. According to Queen Elizabeth II and Parliament, he was “the greatest living Briton” (Harris par yr 1954). Terrifying disaster struck in June, 1953,
when, at the age of 78, he suffered a severe stroke which paralyzed the left side of his body, just after meeting with the Italian Prime Minister. Fortunately, at his country home
in Chartwell, he recuperated quickly, and returned to his duties in October. On November 30, 1954, he celebrated his 80th birthday. Gathering to help him celebrate, were people from all political parties, and he received gifts from all four corners of the globe. Deeply touched, Churchill denied having inspired Britain during World War II
saying, “It was the nation and the race dwelling all round the globe that had the lion's heart. I had the luck to be called on to give the roar” (Thompson 549). While Churchill
described this as luck, perhaps he was as God's instrument instead. Although he kept people guessing for a while, Churchill finally retired in 1955, because he realized that he
was slowing down both physically and mentally. Throughout Churchill's life, his independence, determination, conviction, and refusal to give in helped him to succeed in whatever he did. As a boy, it helped shape him into what he would be as a man, as a man it helped him survive, succeed, and become successful throughout his life, especially during WWII as he led his country to victory and kept everything it stood for from being destroyed, and it helped him lead his country later on as Prime Minister through many difficult foreign affairs. Only God knows how many difficult struggles and adventures he went through, and yet he probably enjoyed every one of them or at least most of them. If he had not been willing to take risks and stand firm against oppressive powers, who knows what our world would be like today. He may have been called Winston Spencer, but in looking back at his life, Daring was his middle name.

Works Cited Page
Harris, Bruce. “Winston Churchill.” Updated Mar 2006.<http://www.moreorless.au.com/
heroes/churchill.html> Mar 2007.
Kurtis, Ron. “Winston Churchill, the early journalist years (Birth-Age 29).” Revised Feb
2006. < http://www. school-for-champions.com/biographies/Churchill.htm l> Apr 2007.
Manchester, William. The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, Alone 1932-1934.
Boston: Little, Brown And Company, 1988.
Thompson, Carol L. “Sir Winston Churchill.” World Book Encyclopedia, 1996.