How chewing gum changes on the sidewalks
The prize in the category "ecology" went to a group of researchers from
They conducted a study of the types of bacteria and their activity on discarded chewing gum from the sidewalks of five countries around the world - France, Spain, Greece, Turkey and Singapore. Scientists collected material for analysis themselves.
With the help of genetic analysis, they found there bacteria characteristic of the oral cavity, and even opportunistic microorganisms.
The authors say their study provides an estimate of how long bacteria from the oral microbiome will survive. It can also be useful for criminologists to search for criminals, epidemiologists
Why do cats meow differently?
The prize was received by Susanne Shotz, a Swedish scientist from Lund University, for her study of the phonetics of cat sounds.Schotz analyzed how pets change the timbre to the tone of their meows in responseon how the owner's intonation changes.
Schotz described the results of a month-long experiment in which she recorded 538 vocalizations of her cats. It turned out that animals canchirp while watching birds, and also raise their voices when askedFood.
Under what conditions do pedestrians collide?
The prize was awarded to two independent teams – scientists from the Netherlands and Japan.They studied how pedestrians avoid collisions with each other at all times, and when this happensand why.
In experiments and simulations usingequations of gas dynamics, why pedestrians do not constantly collide with each other, and Hisashi Murakami's group of the University of Tokyo conducted experiments to understand why pedestrians do occasionally collide.
Smell of comedy, thriller or horror
Laureate of the "chemical" nomination with the helpHigh-precision mass spectrometry tried to understand whether the chemical composition of the air in cinemas depends on the amount of violence and drug use, obscene language and sex scenes in films.
They found that by analyzing odorscinema visitors can tell what genre the film was watched, you can distinguish a comedy from a thriller with horror elements. For example, comedy and action scenes led to an increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide.
The overweight of politicians speaks of corruption in the country
Experts from France, Switzerland, Australia, Austria, the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom have proven that the general level of obesity of officials canreflect the level of corruption in the country. According to their theory, bribes are often received by fuller politicians.
The study authors examined the levelcorruption in the countries of the former USSR, for this they collected portraits of 299 members of the governments of all 15 republics, determined for each of them the body mass index. As a result, it turned out that there is a correlation between this index and the corruption perception index in these countries, which is published by Transparency International and other similar indices.
For a stuffy nose, try an orgasm
The award went to a team of German scientists. They found that instead of using vasoconstrictor drugs for the common cold, orgasm worked well.
Olkay Bulut from the university clinicHeidelberg and his colleagues studied how nasal congestion changes in patients with chronic rhinitis before and after sex. They compared the results with those after taking the drugs.
The authors note that, unfortunately, the method does not work for long - after three hours the nose will be the same as before orgasm. Researchers believe that the method will be useful at least for allergy sufferers.
Flying rhinos
There are not so many rhinos left on the ground, so they sometimes have to be moved - for example, to deliver to protected areas.
Robin Radcliffe of Cornell University and hisfellow animal life researchers from South Africa and Namibia have proven that it is better to do this by helicopter: the animal is tied by the legs and it flies head down. It does not affect the health of rhinos and is quite safe.
During the experiments, they lifted more than ten timesrhinoceroses using cranes, using different methods of their suspension. At the same time, scientists recorded the level of stress, metabolism and respiration of animals. This method does not seem to harm too much, but it definitely leads to a lack of oxygen in the blood.
How to get rid of cockroaches on a submarine
Received the award in the Entomology categoryretired sailor, American John Mulrennan Jr. and his colleagues, who developed a new method for exterminating cockroaches on submarines. Scientists have come up with a special aerosol. Quite effective and quickly eroded.
This method is less harmful to humans and can be applied in a variety of conditions and environments.
Beard helps with blows
Beards can soften a blow to the face, they found outAmerican scientists. The award went to the American researcher Ethan Beceris and his colleagues, who conducted experiments on unique mannequins made of plates (they replaced the lower jaw bone), covered with three types of sheep skin: with natural hair, with clipped wool and with plucked wool. Biologists chose sheep's wool because it is comparable in volume to human hair.
A series of experiments have shown that a beard does indeed reduce the risk of jaw fracture on impact.
To read Further:
An ultra-thin material was made from white graphene. It will replace servers
The Milky Way is not evolving as we thought: an unexpected property of the galaxy has been discovered
3D printed catalysts will solve the problem of overheating of hypersonic aircraft