New DIY colonoscopy technique and other peculiar tests. Ig Nobels 2018 awarded

A ceremony was held at Harvard University’s Sanders Theater to award the Ig Nobel Prize, also known as the Antinoblins. This year honored m.in. calculations of the caloric content of human meat, studies showing that riding a roller coaster is an effective way to remove kidney stones, or the development of the technique of autocolonoscopy.

Ig Nobels are awarded for research thatore seem so absurd that they can only elicit laughter, but once the hilarity passes, they make you think and carry scientific value. Although the theme of this year’s event was „heart”, it many of the wyroThe research that has been done has focused on far less impressive parts of the human anatomy.

The satirical nature of the awardsod aims not only to make people laugh, but also to make them think and popularize science by showing the fun side of a researcher’s work. The Ig Nobels are awarded by the journal Annals of Improbable Research and are, so to speak, a prelude to the real Nobels, whichore will be distributed next month. This year the awards have already been given out 28. once.

Antinobles at the gala are presented by real Nobel laureates, although the awards are taken with a pinch of salt. During the gala, it is the fun that is most important. Winners had to get to the event at their own expense, but received a check for 10 trillion for doing sooin dollarow… zimbabwana, whichore, however, are currently worth little.

This year’s winners in medicine are a pair of doctors whooers investigated whether riding a train of gorska can pomoc remove kidney stones. Researchers made kidney models filled with simulated stones and took them on 20 rides on the largest roller-coaster at the Walt Disney World theme park in Florida. The results showed that sitting in the back of a train car removes kidney stones by 64 percent. caseow. Choiceor place in front gives only 17 percent. effectiveness.

In the field of reproductive medicine, a trio of urologists received the awardow behind the development nearly 40 years ago of the so-called “needle”. stamp test to measure nocturnal erections. This is a rather peculiar test to study erectile dysfunction. Volunteers in the study wrapped the penile root with a tight strip resembling postage stamps before bed, hence the name of the test. A healthy man can have up to 4 erections during sleep, so if the strip broke during the night, it means that an erection occurred, and the disorder associated with it may have a psychological basis.

Japanese scientist Akira Horiuchi was recognized in the field of medical education for his research on the comfort and effectiveness of performing a colonoscopy procedure on one’s own. He conducted the research on himself… several times. The results suggest that it is better to do it in a sitting position, and after a few probach one can achieve proficiency and the study takes less than five minutes.

– It may be funny, but I put an endoscope into the large intestine for a serious purpose. Fortunately, they found neither polypow, nor cancerous lesions – said the winner in an interview with BBC News. – People, especially in Japan, are afraid of colonoscopy and do not want to undergo it. And more and more osob dies of colon cancer. I undertook to develop a technique thatorora can be performed on their own to make colonoscopy more comfortable for the subjects. When people see my autocolonoscopy video, they’ll think it’s an easy examination. Perhaps less waspsob will die of cancer – added.

The literature antinoble was awarded to researchers from Queensland University for their research on the use of product instructionsoin consumer. Scientists tested how consumers relate to the instruction manuals of the items they buyow. It turned out that most usersow do not read them – especially young, educated men, whooers are often frustrated by the complexity of the instruction itself, as well as the operation of their product.

The Ig Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Spanish researchers for their study of the effects of shouting and swearing while driving a car. Researchers examined how driving is affected by frequency „throwing meat”. The aim of the study was to develop a wayow on reducing driver stressoIn and reduce aggression on the highways. Unfortunately, the results showed that Spaniards are too impulsive, which interferes with their safety on the road.

From the field of nutrition, the award will go to a British researcher for calculating the caloric value in human meat. The results of the study moare clearly binding that in poroIn comparison with other meat species, human meat is not very nutritious. The study aimed to analyze the feeding practices of early humans. It shows that a group of 25 cannibals would have to eat 3 people a day to get full. Human thighs are the most nutritious, while offal has the least nutritional value.

In the field of economics, the winning research was on whether workers can use voodoo dolls to take revenge for harassment from the bossow. The study found that creating a voodoo doll of your boss and poStabbing her though needles soothes negative feelings and improves worker performance. However, the authors point out that in the long run it is better to deal with this issue in other waysob.

The Antinobel of Chemistry was awarded for the research, whichore settled the question of whether human saliva is a good cleaning agent. Researchers tested the effect of saliva on 18th century sculptures. Porown the effectiveness of saliva was compared with other alcohol-based cleaners. The results suggest that this wayob actually works, and salivary amylase is responsible for it – An enzyme contained in saliva.

From biology, the prize went to a Swedish team of scientistsoin, whichory demonstrated that professional wine tasters can reliably identify, the presence of fruit fliesowks in a glass of wine. Researchers have shown that wine can be spoiled by even a single fly – a female, ktora literally after a few seconds was taken out of the drink. And it’s all due to a pheromone thatory are secreted by females to lure the male.

From the field of anthropology, the award roalso was awarded to the Swedes. The jury appreciated the zoo’s research on chimpanzees, ktore, as it turns out, monkeying with people.