Takanori Takebe, far right, a professor at Tokyo Medical and Dental University, and members of his research team arrive at the venue for the Ig Nobel prize ceremony on Sept. 12, 2024, at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (Kyodo)
CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (Kyodo) — A group of 11 Japanese and U.S. scientists won the Ig Nobel physiology prize Thursday for finding that many mammals can breathe with their intestines via the anus.
Group leader Takanori Takebe, a professor at Tokyo Medical and Dental University, said in remarks about receiving the spoof prize that he hopes the finding can someday help treat people who suffer from respiratory problems. Ig Nobel organizers say the awards are for research that “makes people laugh and then makes them think.”
The researchers first paid attention to loaches that can breathe through their intestines in low-oxygen environments such as in mud.
Through experiments using mice and pigs with respiratory diseases, they found that administering an oxygen-rich liquid in the rectum helped ease symptoms, a result supporting their hypothesis that intestines can exchange oxygen.
The team published the study in the journal Med in 2021.
Takebe, 37, told Kyodo News, “By nature, some people’s lungs do not function properly, especially when they are newborn babies, and I hope the research will develop into an effective treatment method for those who have difficulties receiving artificial respiration.”
The prizes are organized by the “Annals of Improbable Research” science humor magazine.
After four years of the annual ceremony being held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event returned to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
For 18 consecutive years, a Japanese national has won an Ig Nobel prize.
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Publish date : 2024-09-12 15:30:00
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