Snobel Prize 2017: all countries and countries

At the awards ceremony is always a lot of fun.



Many studies conducted by modern scientists are incomprehensible to the ordinary person. But their benefit to science is undeniable. As an example, the work of the Japanese scientist Yoshinori Osumi. Last year, he received the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine for studying the mechanism of autophagy - the “self-eating” of cells. An ordinary person is unlikely to understand what this mechanism is all about and why the results of his research caused such a stir in the scientific field. But scientists involved in the same topic understand that the study provides far-reaching conclusions that will help in the study of many biological processes, from adaptation to hunger to reaction to infection.



But there are scientific works of meaning and the benefits of which even scientists do not understand. Such studies are not clear why. A number of works of this kind can be called simply absurd, and not so long ago they decided to evaluate them just as serious scientific studies are evaluated by the Nobel Prize Committee. Yes, you are right, we are talking about the award, which is called "Nobel" . Nominations here are about the same as in the Nobel. Let's see what happened there this year.

Peace Prize

This award was given to a whole group of researchers representing at once four countries: Switzerland, Canada, Holland and the United States. Scientists were looking for (and, it seems, found) an alternative way to treat sleep apnea and snoring. This way - playing the musical instrument of the Australian aborigines, which is called didgeridoo.



In 2005, the instrument was tested by 25 volunteers who complained of apnea. As it turned out, for 4 months of regular exercises with this wind instrument you can get rid of snoring. Probably, people learn to breathe correctly, in addition, in the process of exercise strengthens the muscles of the throat.

Anatomy

Here is another scientific work whose purpose is to find out why older men have big ears. The study, by the way, was conducted by the British scientist James Heathcote. As it turned out, the ears after 30 years continue to increase annually by 0.22 millimeters.



To measure the ear growth rate, the author of the study measured the length of the ears in 200 elderly men. As for women, their ears also grow, but they are initially smaller, moreover, in many cases they are hidden by hair, so they are invisible to others.

Biology

Several scholars, Kazunori Yoshizawa, Rodrigo Ferreira, Yoshitaka Kamimura and Charles Lienhard, have been studying an insect for several years, which has a female penis and a male vagina. How would this study more serious than others, but it was decided nevertheless to allocate and nominate for a prize.

Physics

On the Internet, many photos of cats in different states. And so, physicist Marc-Antonin Fardin (Marc-Antoine Fardin) quite seriously conducted a study of the turnover of cats. He found out when a cat can be considered solid, when - liquid, and when - gaseous.



In the article, the physicist reflects on how much time cats need to take on the shape of a vessel. As it turned out, this time is minimal in old cats, it reaches a maximum in young cats.



In addition, among physicists, the work of the South Korean scientist Jiwon Han was also assessed. He was able to study the process of spilling coffee while walking a man with a cup in his hand.



To process the results, the scientist used a complex mathematical apparatus. As it turned out, in order to spill coffee less, you need to hold the cup by the top, and not by the handle. The fact that the cup is hot in this case is not taken into account.

Economy

In this nomination, scientists who have studied the influence of wild animals on how a person plays gambling received an award. Some volunteers were asked to stay in a room with a meter-crocodile, and some volunteers were offered to hold it in their hands. After that, those who saw the crocodile, and those who did not see him, were offered to play a computer game on bets.



As it turned out, people who were in contact with a crocodile made more risky bets than those who were in a calm atmosphere.

The medicine

In this nomination, a team of neuroscientists won, proving that a certain region of the brain is responsible for the aversion of people to cheese. It turned out that the basal nuclei of the brain are responsible for the feeling of disgust for cheese. In the study, as usual, volunteers participated with disgust for cheese and without it. As it turned out, the activity of the basal cores in the first group during the testing of cheeses is higher than in the second.



In general, the scientists who are invited to the awards ceremony, refer to this all for understanding. Someone comes, someone does not, but everyone likes it, well, or almost everyone. In addition, scientists with “Snobeliovka” also receive a kind of fame, and it is not at all negative.

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