We all need to take a break now and again, and enjoy the finer things in life. Australian studies of belly-button lint, a dog-to-human translator, and a peculiar study of what arouses an ostrich are all candidates for the prestigious Ig Nobel award. Anyone for a little navel gazing?

The Ig Nobels, awarded annually at Harvard University as a spoof of the Nobels, recognise achievements that "cannot or should not be reproduced". "It's a great honour. It introduces people to the idea that science is fun," said Karl Kruszelnicki, a Sydney University researcher who wrote the paper on belly-button lint. Dr Kruszelnicki, at his own expense, studied 5000 belly-button lint samples.