Scientists studying cockroach milk and nose-blowing win Ig Nobel prizes for quirky science

Scientists studying cockroach milk and nose-blowing win Ig Nobel prizes for quirky science 1 of 5 | Soil Science Prize Winners Pia Viviani, right, and Atlant Bieri, left, on the stage during the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony held in the Zurich-convention-center" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="199707" data-entity-type="location">Zurich Convention Center in Zurich, Switzerland, on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026. (Claudio Thoma/Keystone via AP) 2 of 5 | Soil Science Prize Winners, from left, Pia Viviani, Franz Bender, Marcel van der Heijden and Atlant Bieri, receive their prize from Nobel Prize winner Michel Major during the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony held in the Zurich-convention-center" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="199707" data-entity-type="location">Zurich Convention Center in Zurich, Switzerland, on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026. (Claudio Thoma/Keystone via AP) 3 of 5 | From left, Atlant Bieri, Pia Viviani and Marcel van der Heijden pose with the trophy during the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony held in the Zurich-convention-center" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="199707" data-entity-type="location">Zurich Convention Center in Zurich, Switzerland, on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026. (Claudio Thoma/Keystone via AP) 4 of 5 | From left, Nobel Prize winners Esther Duflo, Abhijit Banerjee, Michel Mayor and Tim Hunt look at underwear handed over by the Soil Science Award Winners during the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony held in the Zurich-convention-center" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="199707" data-entity-type="location">Zurich Convention Center in Zurich, Switzerland, on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026. (Claudio Thoma/Keystone via AP) 5 of 5 | The Winners the Ig Nobel Prize pose for a group picture during the ceremony held in the Zurich-convention-center" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="199707" data-entity-type="location">Zurich Convention Center in Zurich, Switzerland, on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026. (Claudio Thoma/Keystone via AP) 1 of 5 | Soil Science Prize Winners Pia Viviani, right, and Atlant Bieri, left, on the stage during the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony held in the Zurich-convention-center" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="199707" data-entity-type="location">Zurich Convention Center in Zurich, Switzerland, on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026. (Claudio Thoma/Keystone via AP) 1 of 5 Soil Science Prize Winners Pia Viviani, right, and Atlant Bieri, left, on the stage during the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony held in the Zurich-convention-center" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="199707" data-entity-type="location">Zurich Convention Center in Zurich, Switzerland, on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026. (Claudio Thoma/Keystone via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 2 of 5 | Soil Science Prize Winners, from left, Pia Viviani, Franz Bender, Marcel van der Heijden and Atlant Bieri, receive their prize from Nobel Prize winner Michel Major during the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony held in the Zurich-convention-center" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="199707" data-entity-type="location">Zurich Convention Center in Zurich, Switzerland, on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026. (Claudio Thoma/Keystone via AP) 2 of 5 Soil Science Prize Winners, from left, Pia Viviani, Franz Bender, Marcel van der Heijden and Atlant Bieri, receive their prize from Nobel Prize winner Michel Major during the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony held in the Zurich-convention-center" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="199707" data-entity-type="location">Zurich Convention Center in Zurich, Switzerland, on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026. (Claudio Thoma/Keystone via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 3 of 5 | From left, Atlant Bieri, Pia Viviani and Marcel van der Heijden pose with the trophy during the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony held in the Zurich-convention-center" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="199707" data-entity-type="location">Zurich Convention Center in Zurich, Switzerland, on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026. (Claudio Thoma/Keystone via AP) 3 of 5 From left, Atlant Bieri, Pia Viviani and Marcel van der Heijden pose with the trophy during the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony held in the Zurich-convention-center" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="199707" data-entity-type="location">Zurich Convention Center in Zurich, Switzerland, on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026. (Claudio Thoma/Keystone via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 4 of 5 | From left, Nobel Prize winners Esther Duflo, Abhijit Banerjee, Michel Mayor and Tim Hunt look at underwear handed over by the Soil Science Award Winners during the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony held in the Zurich-convention-center" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="199707" data-entity-type="location">Zurich Convention Center in Zurich, Switzerland, on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026. (Claudio Thoma/Keystone via AP) 4 of 5 From left, Nobel Prize winners Esther Duflo, Abhijit Banerjee, Michel Mayor and Tim Hunt look at underwear handed over by the Soil Science Award Winners during the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony held in the Zurich-convention-center" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="199707" data-entity-type="location">Zurich Convention Center in Zurich, Switzerland, on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026. (Claudio Thoma/Keystone via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 5 of 5 | The Winners the Ig Nobel Prize pose for a group picture during the ceremony held in the Zurich-convention-center" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="199707" data-entity-type="location">Zurich Convention Center in Zurich, Switzerland, on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026. (Claudio Thoma/Keystone via AP) 5 of 5 The Winners the Ig Nobel Prize pose for a group picture during the ceremony held in the Zurich-convention-center" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="199707" data-entity-type="location">Zurich Convention Center in Zurich, Switzerland, on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026. (Claudio Thoma/Keystone via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] Ten research teams were honored Thursday at a satirical science awards ceremony that was hosted outside the U.S. for the first time due to travel concerns.Researchers who studied milk from cockroaches and analyzed soil health using underwear received Ig Nobel prizes celebrating unusual and imaginative contributions to science.The awards organized by a digital magazine called the Annals of Improbable Research shifted to Europe after 35 years in the United States over concerns about attendees being able to get visas.At a convention center in Zurich, Switzerland, research teams received a custom trophy resembling a cross between a mushroom and a human foot. Among them were Matilda Brindle and Stuart West from the University of Oxford and the Florida Institute of Technology’s Catherine F. Talbot, who reconstructed the evolutionary history of kissing, and the late Dr. Tokuji Unno who investigated the science of blowing one’s nose. Another research team buried 1,000 pairs of underwear in more than 25 countries to study how critters in the soil helped them decompose.As per tradition, audience members fashioned paper airplanes and hurled them toward the stage to kick off the show.For future ceremonies, organizers plan to alternate between Zurich and other European countries. The 2027 ceremony will be held in the Belgian city of Antwerp. Previous iterations took place at Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Boston University, but there are no immediate plans to return to the U.S. 1 MIN READ “During the past year, it has become unsafe for our guests to visit the country,” Marc Abrahams, master of ceremonies and editor of the magazine, told The Associated Press in an email in March. The Nobel Prizes, which have no relation to their cheekily named counterpart, will be announced at the start of October.___Associated Press reporter Michael Casey contributed to this report. ___The Associated Press’ health and science coverage receives financial support from the AP Fund for Journalism and private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. Ramakrishnan is a science reporter for The Associated Press, based in New York. She covers research and new developments related to space, early human history and more.