Two Q2 Students Compete in German Neurosciences Competition, Will be Moving on to the Nationals Next Month Q2 students Sophie and Evan (both students of Mrs. Wijers’ SESB Biology LK) competed in the regional competition of the annual Deutsche Neurowissenschaften
Olympiade (DNO)—or German Neuroscience Olympiad—which kicked off Saturday (09.03.2024) in three cities across Germany, Bonn, Heidelberg and Berlin; all known for their prominent neurology centers.
The DNO is a multi-stage competition for German students between the ages of 13–19 that promotes the study of life sciences and aims to introduce talented young students to the global scientific community. The organization has reached many students and serves as a great next step for students whose interest has been piqued by the German school curriculum’s (sadly) short neurology unit and who want to delve deeper into the fascinating machinations and mysteries of
the brain. It offers the opportunity to meet and interact with real neuroscientists as well as other young, like-minded, neuro-loving students from across Germany; the competition is held in English.
The regional competition itself was held at the Max Delbrück Center in Buch and consisted of a written test on neurophysiology, followed by a neuroanatomy exam in which students had just 30 seconds to identify an indicated structure from a photograph, microscope slide, model, or even a REAL brain. After a lunch break, the competition continued with, perhaps, the most fun part, the diagnosis exam: students were presented with one-paragraph descriptions and short videos of six patients with varying neurological pathologies that the participants had to then diagnose with the help of maximum three tests (e.g. an MRI or a DNA test) that they could reveal the results of.
One patient, for example, was a young woman who had noticed a change around her 18th birthday: her eyes had started drooping, her legs gave out and she felt constantly weak. This characteristic eye-droop symptom and a positive DNA test for a mutation of the RAPSN gene revealed that she was afflicted by a rare chronic autoimmune disorder known as Myasthenia Gravis (MG).
Afterward, the scores from the first three events were tallied up and the top ten scorers (Evan and Sophie both among them) participated in a competitive podium round chaired by three neuroscientists from Berlin’s Charité Hospital & Research Institute, who asked the contestants questions about the brain and the nervous system. Correct answers were awarded points, wrong answers resulted in strikes, and, over time, eliminations, until the regional winner had been
determined.
Both Sophie and Evan qualified in the top 10- of which Evan even qualified 3rd place overall, meaning both will be moving on to the national-level competition in Frankfurt on April 27th. The winner of that round will be crowned German national champion and will get to represent Germany at the 2024 International Brain Bee (IBB) World Championship, a massive competition bringing together the national champions of over 50 countries.
Good luck to our two Schiller-Brainiacs as they advance to the Nationals next month!
