The fun of winning science’s satirical Ig Nobel prize

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Two groups of researchers have taken the first-ever look at samples brought back from the Moon’s far side — and revealed a history of volcanic activity that spans billions of years. Nearly two kilograms of lunar soil was retrieved by the China National Space Administration mission Chang’e-6 and then dropped down to Earth in a re-entry capsule. Scientists found grains of dust in the sample that originated from lava that erupted to the surface as long as 4.2 billion years ago.

Nature | 5 min read

Reference: Nature paper & Science paper

The body’s fat cells carry a ‘memory’ of obesity, even after weight loss. The memory is formed because obesity causes epigenetic changes in the cells, which seem to render them incapable of their normal function even when weight returns to healthy levels. The results suggest that people trying to slim down will often require long-term care to avoid weight regain, says biologist and study co-author Laura Hinte. “It means that you need more help, potentially,” she says. “It’s not your fault.”

Nature | 5 min read

Reference: Nature paper

Google Scholar is turning 20 — and facing the rise of competing systems, powered by artificial intelligence (AI), for searching the literature. “If there was ever a moment when Google Scholar could be overthrown as the main search engine, it might be now,” says computational social scientist Jevin West. Anurag Acharya, who co-founded Google Scholar, says he welcomes all efforts to make scholarly information easier to find, understand and build on.

Nature | 6 min read

Features & opinion

Unlike its Nobel namesake, an Ig Nobel prize is not always coveted by scientists. But receiving one of the the satirical awards — which honour work that “makes people laugh, then think” — is no bad thing, say some former winners. “My paper got a huge readership,” says ornithologist Kees Moeliker, who won in 2003 for reporting the first documented case of homosexual necrophilia in ducks. Psychologist Minna Lyons, who won in 2014 for her work on the dark personality traits of night-owls, calls the award “one of the best surprises in my academic career, by far”. “It actually inspires people,” she says.

Nature | 9 min read

Reference: DEINSEA paper & Personality and Individual Differences paper

“The scientific community must take a critical look at what responsibility it bears in science becoming politically contentious,” argues Marcia McNutt, the president of the US National Academy of Sciences. She emphasizes the role of evidence in informing — not setting — policy. And she says that “it may not be helpful to emphasize consensus in policy reports’ recommendations when the underlying values are not universally shared” — for example, by being prescriptive about the use of renewable energy to address climate change.

McNutt’s opinion has sparked debate among scientists. Her argument fails to recognize that trust in science has been intentionally dismantled by those with a vested interest, argues a researcher who studies the psychological factors that influence how people accept or reject scientific messages. And science writer Philip Ball asks how scientists can heed McNutt’s call to fight disinformation. “The idea that this can be done now in the US without being seen as ‘political’ is… absurd,” he writes.

Science | 5 min read

In 2020, Nature explored why we write (and podcast) about politics in a three-part audio series that considers the intimate relationship between politics and science.

In 2018, Hurricane Walaka wiped a tiny island in the remote northwest of the Hawaiian archipelago off the map. With it went a refuge for threatened green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) and critically endangered Hawaiian monk seals (Neomonachus schauinslandi). But East Island is making a comeback: it has regained about 60% of its original size, along with some turtle nesting sites and seals. “It was a tragic event but there’s just so much knowledge that we’re gaining,” says climate scientist Haunani Kane. This “will help to guide our long-term understanding of how our islands are resilient or vulnerable to the changes that are to come”.

Honolulu Civil Beat | 16 min read