Japanese scientists paint cows into zebras, win Ig Nobel prize

According to research published by Japanese scientists, painting black and white stripes on cows' bodies helps reduce economic losses caused by horseflies.

Cows "camouflaged" as zebras - Photo: Japan Times

On September 18, at the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony - awarded for unusual research, a group of 11 Japanese scientists were named in the Biology category for their research on painting black and white stripes resembling zebra skin on cattle to help prevent horseflies.

Specifically, the research team used water-based paint to paint white stripes on Japanese black cows, creating a visual effect similar to zebra skin. The results showed that the number of horseflies landing on the cows' bodies decreased by 50% compared to unpainted cows.

According to research published by Japanese scientists in 2019, painting black and white stripes on cows' bodies helps reduce economic losses caused by horseflies.

Accordingly, cattle bitten by horseflies are often vulnerable to skin infections, irregular eating and sleeping, making them prone to weight loss, and disease, leading to significant losses for the livestock industry. In the US, losses caused by horseflies are estimated at up to 2.2 billion USD per year.

The above interesting research opens up the potential to replace pesticides in preventing insects from attacking livestock, thereby bringing multi-dimensional benefits to livestock, human health and the ecological environment.

The Ig Nobel organizers said the research was an expansion of the 2016 Ig Nobel Prize in Physics, a group of scientists from Hungary, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland who discovered that flies are less likely to land on white horses.

This year's award ceremony was held in Boston (USA), marking the 19th consecutive year that Japanese research has been shortlisted for the award by the humorous science magazine Annals of Improbable Research.

Scientists receive Ig Nobel Prize - Photo: Japan Times

The annual Ig Nobel Prizes, launched in 1991, are modeled after the prestigious Nobel Prizes, but focus on a unique research approach that “makes people laugh first, then think later.”

Each year, 10 prizes are awarded for “unexpected and interesting” research in various fields.

In addition to the work of the Japanese research team, this year's awards ceremony also recognized other unique studies such as the pizza-eating preferences of lizards and the impact of smelly shoes on human health.

Besides the Biology category, some other notable Ig Nobels this year include the Peace Prize, awarded for research showing that drinking alcohol sometimes improves the ability to speak foreign languages, and the Aviation Prize, for work analyzing whether alcohol affects bats' ability to fly.

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VNA

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/son-bo-thanh-ngua-van-cac-nha-khoa-hoc-nhat-ban-doat-giai-ig-nobel-20250919212154803.htm