Australian scientist awarded Ig Nobel prize for unboiling an egg

Unboiling an egg sounds like the type of announcement you might hear on April Fool’s Day. Or at the very least, something that provokes the response “Why??”

But the humorous sounding experiment by Flinders University Chemistry Professor Colin Raston and his team belies a major scientific breakthrough that has huge implications for the treatment of cancer, the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, the production of biofuels and food processing.

Reflecting the significance of the discovery, Professor Raston has been honoured with an Ig Nobel prize, which honours achievements that make people laugh, and then think, by celebrating the unusual, honouring the imaginative and spurring people’s interest in science, medicine and technology.

Professor Raston’s Vortex Fluidic Device, which can unravel protein, is a revolutionary development which is already improving people’s lives by boosting the potency of a common cancer drug fourfold — meaning better treatment with fewer side effects.

“It’s not what we set out to do, to unboil an egg, but it’s the way of explaining the science involved and helping the wider world realise the momentousness of it,” explained Professor Raston.

“All scientists want to do something that is significant, but this has the wow factor. The sheer scale of this is mind-boggling. The global pharmaceutical industry alone is worth $160 billion annually and the processing of proteins is central to it. The VFD is completely changing it — and is set to do the same for the fuel and food industries. It’s impossible to place a price on the value of this device.”

The prizes are organised by the magazine Annals of Improbable Research, with an editorial board consisting of 50 eminent world scientists, including several Nobel Prize winners and a convicted felon.

Professor Raston was presented with the coveted prize in a gala ceremony at Harvard by a panel of genuine Nobel Laureates in front of 1100 splendidly eccentric spectators. The newly crowned Ignitary sported a tie emblazoned with fried eggs for the occasion!