Marcel van der Heijden wins Ig Nobel Prize for soil research

Dutch biology professor Marcel van der Heijden has won an Ig Nobel Prize for research involving the burial of thousands of cotton underwear to study soil health. Working with colleagues from Germany and Switzerland, Van der Heijden coordinated a study where volunteers across Switzerland buried white cotton underwear to observe how quickly microorganisms decomposed the fabric.

The research, which aimed to gain insight into soil activity and ecosystem fertility, demonstrated that the rate of decomposition serves as an indicator of soil quality. The findings suggest that soil management significantly impacts microbial life and overall soil health.

The Ig Nobel Prize ceremony, which honors research that makes people laugh and then think, was held in Zurich this year. This marks the first time in 36 years that the awards were not presented in the United States, a shift the organizers attributed to hostile political stances toward universities and scientists in the US.