Ancient Human Ancestor, Ig Nobel Awards, Champagne Bubbles

This week: Scientists add a new chapter to the story of human evolution. Champagne bubbles enhance the drink’s flavor. A bacterial pathogen could help fight disease-carrying mosquitoes.  Ig Nobel prize winners announced, while blogs and betting sites are abuzz with speculation about this year’s Nobel contenders. A walk through China’s innovative past.

Ardi, Our Ancient Ancestor: In the early 1990s, paleontologists discovered a hominid fossil in what is now the Afar region of Ethiopia. It was 4.4 million years old and belonged to a female. The researchers who discovered the skeleton named her Ardipithicus ramidus, or Ardi. This week, an international team of researchers describes Ardi and her ancient environment in a series of studies in the journal Science.
Guests: Tim White and Owen Lovejoy.
The Studies in Science.
Discovery: Ardi
Human Evolution Research Center

Elsa’s Favorite Science Stories:

• Champagne Bubbles Flavor the Drink: A group of German and French researchers has discovered that the secret to Champagne’s flavor lies in its fizz. Champagne bubbles concentrate the chemicals that give the drink its rich aromas. When the bubbles rise to the top, they bring these flavored compounds to the surface.
  The Study.
  Read more about champagne bubbles.
• Mosquitoes Beware! Scientists are trying to use a bacterial pathogen originally taken from fruit flies to fight diseases spread by mosquitoes. When infected with the bacteria, the immune systems of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes became hyper active. And the mosquitoes were better able to fight off other pathogens, including the yellow fever virus, thus reducing the chances of spreading the pathogens to humans.
  The Study.
  Les Barker’s poem, Gladys, about two mosquitoes.
  
• Speculation on This Year’s Nobel Contenders: Blogs and online betting sites are busy speculating on this year’s Nobel contenders. The Nobel Prizes will be announced next week, starting Monday, October 5th.
  Who are the contenders? Find out here.
  You could try your luck at Guess-A-Nobel Contest, and see if you win an iPod.
  Or throw in your speculation and try winning a guest post on the Uncertain Principles blog.

Ig Nobel Awardees Announced: On October 1st, the Annals of Improbable Research presented the 19th Annual First Ig Nobel Awards. Among the winners were Catherine Douglas and Peter Rowlinson of Newcastle University, who won the veterinary medicine prize for showing that cows with names produce more milk than unnamed cows. The winners of the Peace Prize were forensic pathologist Stephan Bolliger and his colleagues from the University of Bern, in Switzerland, for finding out whether it is better to be smashed on the head with a full beer bottle or an empty one. The empty beer bottle turned out to be more lethal.
Guests: Peter Rowlinson and Stephan Bolliger.
Meet the other Ig Nobel winners here.

China’s innovative past: China invented paper, printing, the compass and the seismograph. And then, about 500 years ago, it lost its innovative edge. Now China hopes to regain its creative advantage.
Report: By The World’s Mary Kay Magistad, in Beijing.

Music: Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, by The Beatles.

Poem: Gladys, by Les Barker.

Tags: beer, champagne, China, cows, Ethiopia, fossil, Ig Nobel, mosquito, Nobel, yellow fever