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News & Views item - August 2008 |
Eureka
Prizes Awarded. (August 20, 2008)
The Australian Museum's Eureka Prizes were awarded last night at Sydney's Randwick racecourse.
Professor
Stephen Simpson from the School of Biological Sciences at the University of
Sydney won the prize for scientific research. He discovered that locusts swarm
because they are hungry for protein. Not until they become satiated for protein
will they stop foraging. According to Professor Simpson, further studies have
shown that this is also the case throughout the animal kingdom including man. He
said: "Protein will win and that can then therefore drive you to over-consume
diets which are too low in their percentage of protein or indeed under consume,
and hence potentially lose weight on diets that are relatively high in protein."
In all twenty prizes were awarded with cash prizes totalling $200,000. For a complete description of the event, the winners and the 2008 finalists, click here.