Ig Nobel Prize awarded to researchers studying cockroach milk

Researchers studying the milk produced by the Pacific beetle cockroach, Diploptera punctata, have been awarded the 2026 Ig Nobel Prize in Chemistry. The research, originally published in 2016, utilized X-ray crystallography to examine protein crystals that nourish developing embryos. These crystals contain milk proteins that bind lipids, providing a highly concentrated nutritional source; one crystal was estimated to contain more than three times the energy of an equivalent mass of dairy milk.

The Ig Nobel Prize ceremony, organized by the Annals of Improbable Research, was held at the Zurich Convention Center in Switzerland. This marks the first time in 35 years that the satirical awards ceremony has been hosted outside of the United States, a move organizers attributed to visa concerns for international attendees.

Other research honored at the ceremony included studies on soil health through the decomposition of buried underwear and the evolutionary history of kissing. The 2027 ceremony is scheduled to take place in Antwerp, Belgium.