入選“搞笑”版諾貝爾獎的科學成果必須不同尋常,能激發(fā)人們對科學、醫(yī)學和技術的興趣。
搞笑諾貝爾獎設置的獎金為10萬億“巨款”,你沒看錯,的確是10萬億,不過是津巴布韋幣。
獲獎者的獎杯也是主辦方根據(jù)主題精(路)心(邊)打(撿)造(來)的,每年的設計都不同。
2014年的主題是“食物”
2015年的主題是“生命”
今年“搞笑諾貝爾獎”的主題是“不確定性”(Uncertainty)。
和往年一樣,今年搞笑諾貝爾獎的獲獎課題依然是那么的不著調(diào):
Physics: Can a cat be both a solid and a liquid?
物理學獎:貓既可以是固體,也可以是液體的?
法國的流體力學家法爾丹從網(wǎng)上的一篇文章:“震驚!喵星人是液體的15大證據(jù)!(15 Proofs That Cats Are Liquid)”中獲得靈感,開始了這一研究課題。在他的論文《論貓的流變學》(The Rheology of Cats)中,法爾丹發(fā)現(xiàn)幼年貓比老年貓更具流體性。他還研究了環(huán)境對貓的流體性的影響以及貓對環(huán)境的反作用。
法爾丹在論文中寫道:
“Very recent experiments from Japan also suggest that we should not see cats as isolated fluid systems, but as able to transfer and absorb stresses from their environment. Indeed, in Japan, they have cat cafes, where stressed out customers can pet kitties and purr their worries away.”
“日本最近的一些實驗表明,我們不應當把貓看作一個孤立的流體系統(tǒng),它們還可以轉(zhuǎn)化和吸收周圍環(huán)境的壓力。事實上,在日本有很多貓咪咖啡館。在那里,顧客可以盡情吸貓,讓煩惱一掃而空。”
Peace: Curing sleep apnea with didgeridoos
和平獎:迪吉里杜管可治療鼾癥
今年的和平獎授予了一個瑞士團隊。他們發(fā)現(xiàn)練習吹迪吉里杜管(Didgeridoo,澳大利亞土著部落的傳統(tǒng)樂器)4個月能幫助改善較輕度的睡眠呼吸暫停綜合征,以及相關的打鼾癥狀??茖W家們表示,這可能是因為吹奏該樂器能鍛煉舌頭的肌肉并且減少咽喉部的“脂肪墊”,從而緩解打鼾。
Alex Suarez, a didgeridoo instructor, told the researchers that he and his students felt less tired after their musical training. The study found that new didgeridoo players had reduced daytime sleepiness and their partners reported fewer nighttime disturbances.
迪吉里杜管老師蘇亞雷斯告訴研究人員,他和他的學生在結(jié)束音樂訓練后感到?jīng)]那么疲勞了。該研究發(fā)現(xiàn),學習吹奏迪吉里杜管的新生不僅白天的倦意有所減輕,他們的伴侶還反映他們在夜里也睡得更好。
Anatomy: Do old men really have bigger ears?
解剖獎:老年男性的耳朵更大嗎?
James A. Heathcote in the United Kingdom took home the Anatomy prize for his study published two decades ago in the British Medical Journal on whether men’s ears grow as they age. Four doctors got permission to study 206 male patients from age 30 to 93, and found that, well, ears really did seem to get larger by a teeny 0.22 millimeters a year.
英國醫(yī)生詹姆斯•希思科特憑借20年前在《英國醫(yī)學期刊》上發(fā)表的關于男性耳朵是否會隨著年齡增長的研究而獲得解剖獎。4名醫(yī)生獲準對206名在36-93歲之間的男性患者進行研究,他們發(fā)現(xiàn),人的耳朵的確以每年0.22毫米的微小幅度增長。
Fluid dynamics: Walking backward could reduce coffee spilling
流體力學獎:倒著走路手里拿的咖啡溢出更少
流體力學獎的得主是來自韓國的杰西•韓,他的研究內(nèi)容是當人在手拿一杯咖啡倒著走路時的液體振蕩動力學。
He found that walking backward or holding the cup differently both seemed to decrease the resonance of the coffee. Walking backward, coffee-holders also have the potential of “tripping on a stone or crashing into a passing by a colleague who may also be walking backwards,” according to the paper.
他發(fā)現(xiàn)倒著走路,或者換一種姿勢拿咖啡似乎都能減少咖啡的共振。該研究稱,拿著咖啡向后走時,人們可能會“被石頭絆倒,或者撞到同樣倒行路過的同事。”
Economics: Will holding a crocodile make you a better gambler?
經(jīng)濟學獎:摸鱷魚會增加賭博者的運氣嗎?
Matthew Rockloff and Nancy Greer at the Institute for Health and Social Science Research at CQUniversity in Australia picked up the economics prize for their “experiments to see how contact with a live crocodile affects a person’s willingness to gamble.”
澳大利亞中央昆士蘭大學健康和社會科學研究所的馬修·洛克洛夫和南希·格利爾獲得了經(jīng)濟學獎,他們的實驗內(nèi)容是“研究觸摸活鱷魚對一個人的賭博欲望會產(chǎn)生怎樣的影響”。
洛克洛夫發(fā)現(xiàn),賭客開賭前,抱封住嘴巴的一米長鱷魚,能引發(fā)興奮情緒,使有賭癮的人賭得更大,也輸?shù)酶鼞K。
其他獲獎研究內(nèi)容包括:
Nutrition: This bat species sucks human blood
營養(yǎng)學獎:吸血蝙蝠食譜中的人血研究
Medicine: The neural bases of disgust for cheese: An fMRI study
醫(yī)學獎:通過功能磁共振成像技術評估人對芝士的厭惡程度。
Cognition: Can twins recognize their own faces?
認知學獎:同卵雙胞胎能分清對方的臉嗎?
Obstetrics: Fetuses prefer their music delivered vaginally
產(chǎn)科學獎:胎兒更喜歡在母親陰道里聽到的音樂。
Biology: Female penis, male vagina, and their correlated evolution in a cave insect
生物學獎:一種洞穴昆蟲雌性長著雄性生殖器官,而雄性長著雌性生殖器官的生物進化現(xiàn)象。