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Researchers named the cream of the crop!
Newcastle scientists who found that cows with names produce more milk have won a major international award.
Catherine Douglas was "thrilled" with her award
Dr Catherine Douglas (VETNET LLN Regional Manager) and Dr Peter Rowlinson of Newcastle University
have won the Ig Nobel Prize for Veterinary Medicine for their work
looking at reducing stress levels in dairy cattle.
In a paper
published earlier this year, they described how giving a cow a name and
treating her as an individual can increase a farmer’s annual milk yield
by almost 500 pints.
Led by Dr Douglas, the research found that
just as people respond better to the personal touch, cows also feel
happier and more relaxed if they are given a bit more one-to-one
attention.
The Ig Nobel Prizes, now in their 19th year, honour
achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think and
last night Dr Douglas said she was “surprised and delighted” with the
award.
“The amusing side of the research that the media picked
up on was that giving a cow a name meant she produced more milk and
there was a lot of light-hearted discussion around what the best name
might be and lists of the top ten names for a cow,” says Dr Douglas,
who gave birth to her first child Flora just five weeks ago and was
unable to travel to the US to collect the award in person.
“But
on a serious note our research was all about improving animal welfare.
We showed that by improving the human-animal relationship and giving
more individual attention, such as calling a cow by her name or
interacting with her more as she grows up, you can reduce the levels of
stress. Stress produces the hormone cortisol which can impair milk
production so reducing the stress levels leads to an increase in yield.”
The
Ig Nobels are “intended to celebrate the unusual, honor the imaginative
-- and spur people's interest in science, medicine, and technology.”
Collecting
the award at Harvard University's historic Sanders Theatre was project
supervisor Dr Rowlinson, based in Newcastle University’s School of
Agriculture, Food and Rural Development.
He said: “On the one
hand these awards are light-hearted and fun but they also have a strong
underlying message that just because something makes us laugh doesn’t
mean it isn’t sound, or potentially important, science.”
Listen to Dr Rowlinson speaking about the award on BBC Radio 4's PM programme
