As We Delve Ever-Deeper into the 2008 Ig Noble Award-Winning Research into Taiwanese Spermicidal Soda-Douche
Further clarifications from Mojonaut Julia, reporting from the trenches of the 2008 Ig Noble Awards:
The juxtaposition is obviously funny on the face, but as you get deeper into it, it actually becomes a genuinely interesting (at least to me) examination of the difference experimental procedure can have on the result of a study.
Deborah Anderson (of BU, and the pro-spermicide side) explained at the Ig Informal Lectures this past Saturday how her study used 5 parts Coke to 1 part sperm, and the Taiwanese study went the other way around (5 parts sperm to 1 part Coke). In that light, neither result is particularly surprising.
Furthermore, the BU study focused on sperm motility, whereas the Taiwan study examined the ability of the sperm to traverse a membrane.
They're both valid studies, assuming you feel that studying the effects of Coke on sperm is a "valid" use of scientific time and resources.
Earlier reporting: THE IGNOBEL AWARDS 2008 | IN DEFENSE OF TAIWANESE SODA-POP CONTRACEPTIVE DOUCHE RESEARCH
*thanks Julia!!!*
