“While science reassures, art disturbs”, French painter Georges Braque held. It is generally believed that scientific activity is serious and that it pursues an important mission for humanity. But there is a lot of research that debunks beliefs and deserves attention. In many other experiences, there were scientists who He began to study what should be the proper handling of a penis stuck in the zip of the pants. others have taken care to show that Sexual orgasms can be just as effective as decongestant drugs for improving nasal breathing.
Those works have been recognized since 1991 as “the achievements that first make people laugh and then make them think.” They are the Ig Nobel Prizes which are awarded during a ceremony organized by the magazine History of Impossible Research (it means that History of Impossible Research) at the Sanders Theater at Harvard University, USA. Since the pandemic began, the ceremony has temporarily gone virtual: This year it will take place next Thursday (it will be streamed online for free). Here,
The studies are classified into 10 Ig Nobel Prize categories that vary with each edition. They were created by American Mark Abrahams in Spanish as a play on the word “ignoble” in English meaning “ignorable”. Some consider it a parody of the formal Nobel Prizes given in Sweden. but The truth is that there is no such sharp line between studies that receive an “Ig Nobel” and studies worthy of a Nobel. In fact, there is already a scientist who has won both awards.
in dialogue infobae, Abraham, who studied applied mathematics at Harvard and is the Ig Nobel’s master of ceremonies, describes what is one of his favorite studies. “There’s one that’s always at the top of my favorites list: this is the study that won the Ig Nobel Prize for biology in 2003. This was the first scientifically documented case of homosexual necrophilia in Mallard. Everything in published work is so unpredictable that it makes you pay attention. This scientific report, packed with simple facts, is one of the best, most nuanced and engaging literary stories ever written. And a lot of the details are, in themselves, like little adventure stories. ,
In 1995, ornithological researcher choose molikar He was in his office at the Natural History Museum in Rotterdam, Netherlands, when two ducks collided with his window. One animal died, and another came to him and began to copulate. The scientist took his camera and his notebook and observed strange animal behavior.
“I knew I saw something special but it took me 6 years to decide whether to publish it. It’s a great theme for a birthday party or when coworkers gather around the coffee machine, but Sharing it with our colleagues is something else,” Molicker said in a TED lecture. He published the discovery of the necrophilia case, later won the Ig Nobel, and is now investigating ways to prevent birds from crashing into buildings, a common cause of death.
According to Abraham, there is also scientific research that leads to more thinking. “One of them is the invention of the emergency bra developed by Dr. Elena Bodnar,” he said. This is a bodice or bra that can be quickly disassembled into a pair of protective masks in an emergency. The doctor grew up in Ukraine and studied medicine. As a young woman, she treated the victims of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident in 1986. That experience with the Chernobyl victims helped Dr. Bodnar to come up with his invention of the emergency bra several years later, which received the Ig Nobel in public health. In 2009, Abraham recalled.
There are scientific studies that “laugh and then think” not only related to biology and health. Works covering chemistry, physics, psychology, biodiversity or peace are also included. in 2013 “Chance” Award Two related searches went to Colin Morgan and other UK colleagues, The first suggested that the longer the cow lay down, the more likely it was to get up early. Second: As soon as a cow wakes up, you can’t easily estimate how long it will take for her to lie down again.
In the case of Other Geim One of the most striking. He is a physicist who was born in Russia and is a professor at the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom. With the magnet, he managed to lift a frog up by magnetism and published the result in the journal european journal of physics in 1997. In 2000, Geim won the Ig Nobel for physics.
but In 2010 Geim was also awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for demonstrating the extraordinary properties of graphene, which originated from the world of quantum physics. And it is a material that is valued for its fineness and resistance and with many applications ranging from electronic components to the automotive industry. Abraham said, “The description of how Dr. Geim discovered his graphene is as absurd and brilliant as his description of frog levitation.”
Geim continued his contribution. Last August, after publishing a new work in the journal nature communicationThe scientist said: “Graphene literally turns waste into gold.” Together with colleagues from Tsinghua University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Geim now showed that graphene may be a type of philosopher’s stone that allows gold to be extracted from waste that contains only trace amounts of gold.
Researchers in Latin America have already received some Ig Nobels. One of them – “Aviation” in the curious category– was given in 2007. Argentina won it Patricia Agostino, Santiago Plano You Diego Golombekwho while doing an experiment at the National University of Quilmes found that hamsters recover better from jet lag if they first take Viagra®. Following the award, the researchers continued to publish, “extending the results to other doses, other similar drugs, to other species and females. We also continue to look at the biochemical mechanisms underlying this synchronization,” said Dr. Golombek said infobae,
Colombian John Manuel Bulle with spanish joseph troblon You Nuria Sebastian Gallesufrom the University of Barcelona, also received an Ig Nobel for demonstrating that Rats Sometimes Don’t Distinguish Between Japanese and Dutch When recordings of people speaking those two languages are played backwards. Enrique Cerda Villablanca from the University of Santiago in Chile, along with American colleagues, was recognized for the study to explain why sheets wrinkle.
Tulio Guadeloupeborn in Peru and researcher in Europe, recognized for his study of how The Eiffel Tower appears smaller when viewed tilted to the left. The scientist took this as “an honor” and said he conducted research with other colleagues to prove that cognitive functions (such as estimation of quantity) could be influenced by the motor system.
One of the investigations provided last year was that Robin Radcliffe, of Cornell University, who studied whether it was safe to carry an anesthetized rhino face down in the air or lying on its side in a sled. and showed that There is no danger to the health of animals if they are hung by their feet under a helicopter, An increasingly popular technique in African conservation.
Scientist Leila Satari, Alba Guillen, Angela Vidal-Verde You Manuel Porcar Another Ig Nobel was also received from Spain last year. They used genetic analysis to identify the different species of bacteria that live in chewing gum stuck to sidewalks in different countries. That is to say, they analyzed the bacterioma of discarded chewing gum, a task that Posted in scientific reportgroup’s Nature, Although it sounds like a singular job, The results have applications. For example, forensic medicine can identify a person from the microbes in chewing gum.
Most laureates are not offended when they are told that they have won an Ig Nobel. Abraham explained that “after winning an Ig Nobel, good things usually happen to researchers. Almost always, the big impact is that many people find out about the research they’re doing, and then they invite the winners to get involved in new things. In some cases we have received reports from colleagues, rivals or administrators who became jealous of the attention the winners received.
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