SCIENCE – Die less stupid. As every year, the Ig-Nobel ceremony – a parody of the Nobel Prizes whose name is a play on words with the adjective « ignoble » – This Thursday, September 12, honored the most bizarre and improbable scientific discoveries in various disciplines. Last year, researchers received an Ig Nobel Prize for Health for developing smart toilets capable of analyzing excrement. This year again, the list of winners has even more astonishing surprises in store.
10 years of Mario Kart 8, the craziest scientific studies on the subject
At a humorous ceremony held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), ten researchers were awarded these “anti-Nobel Prize”According to the organizers, the aim is to celebrate the work “which first make you laugh, then think”. Some prizes were even awarded by (real) Nobel Prize winners themselves. The researchers then had to present their findings at conferences. « 24/7 »where they first had to summarize their topic in 24 seconds, then in just 7 words.
Among the most interesting discoveries of this 2024 edition, we learn that fake drugs (placebos) are more effective if they cause side effects than when they do not, or that the probability of a coin landing on heads or tails is not strictly 50/50: in reality, it has a 51% chance of landing on the side corresponding to the initially visible face, a conclusion reached after 350,757 tosses.
The most unlikely prize of the list is undoubtedly the Peace Prize, awarded to an American research project conducted during the Second World War on missiles guided by… pigeons. The researchers themselves had described the project as “wacky” at the time. Although the idea was eventually abandoned by the military, Professor Skinner continued his work with promising results.
Mammals can breathe through the anus
The Ig Nobel Prize in Physiology has been awarded to a team of Japanese researchers for their surprising discovery that some mammals can breathe through their anus. After conducting a series of experiments on mice, rats and pigs, the scientists observed that these animals could absorb oxygen administered via the rectum.
This research could pave the way for a treatment for respiratory failure in humans. Inspired by species like the loach, which uses its intestines to breathe, the researchers began their study during the Covid crisis, when ventilators were in critical short supply in hospitals. The team is now conducting a phase 1 clinical trial in human volunteers to explore this approach.
France provides surprising answer on hair growth
French researcher, craniofacial surgeon Roman Khonsari, and his team were also recognized at the ceremony, receiving the anatomy prize for their study on the direction of hair growth. Their research showed that in most people, hair spirals form in a clockwise direction, but in the southern hemisphere, they form more counterclockwise.
Roman Khonsari, who works at the Necker-Enfants Malades University Hospital in Paris, told Guardian : « I was operating when I got the call.” “I was extremely happy because, despite the undeniable lack of relevance of this study, I am convinced that deciphering forms in nature can lead to important discoveries about the fundamental mechanisms of development. Forms carry an interesting amount of information.”he added.
The award-winning researchers, like him, showed humour and gratitude at Thursday’s ceremony. The real Nobel Prizes will be awarded in early October in Scandinavia.
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