Did you ever wonder why cutting an onion makes you cry?What about how dung beetles(屎壳郎) find their way home?Sometimes science can be silly,in a good way.36
The Ig Nobel Prizes are awards given to scientific researchers whose work first makes people laugh,and then makes them think.One of this year’s winners is Japanese scientist Shinsuke Imai.37
Imai,a chemist at a Japanese food company called House Foods,didn’t mean to discover why onions make us cry.38 Over a decade ago,Imai was studying onion and garlic pastes used in House Foods’ products.In the process,he came across a new enzyme(酶).Imai realized that this enzyme is directly involved in a chemical reaction that happens when we slice into an onion.When the onion juices hit the air,the enzyme produces a strong,tear-jerking(催人泪下的) response in our eyes.
Since his research was published in 2002,Imai’s team has learned how to remove the enzyme they discovered by changing the onion’s genes.These genetically modified(转基因的) onions don’t make people cry as much as conventional onions do.39 The Japanese government hasn’t approved the sale of genetically modified foods.So,Imai is hoping to figure out a way to develop tearless onions without changing the genes of the plants.
40 Imai’s lab has also learned how to create the tear-jerking components of onions.Imai thinks that someday this work could help people with Dry Eye Syndrome,since these people don’t produce enough tears.Imai’s eye-watering discovery may be able to help them.
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