Science: Australian scientist create a way to unboil an egg

An Australian scientist has been awarded an Ig Nobel Prize, a humorous parody of the more serious Swedish counterpart, for creating a way to unboil an egg.

Chemistry professor Colin Raston from Flinders University in Adelaide built a machine which can unravel proteins.

He said he had his 'Eureka' moment when he fed a boiled hen egg into the machine and it came back uncooked.

'Wow, did I really do that?' Professor Raston said at the time. 

The machine, which has been called a vortex fluidic device, works by unfolding the proteins in egg whites back to their natural state.

It has been hailed as a potential game-changer for the targeted delivery of chemotherapy drugs for cancer treatment.

Professor Raston said: 'It's living the dream. All scientists want to do something that is significant, but this has the wow factor.

'It's not what we set out to do, to unboil an egg, but it's the way of explaining the science involved and helping the wider world realise the momentousness of it.'

'The sheer scale of this is mind boggling. The global pharmaceutical industry alone is worth $160 billion annually and the processing of proteins is central to it. 

'The VFD is completely changing it – and is set to do the same for the fuel and food industries. It's impossible to place a price on the value of this device.

'Winning an Ig is both humbling and amazing.'

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Kris Jenner finding it difficult to call Caitlyn Jenner by her new name

Having lived together for more than 20 years when her ex was still Bruce Jenner, Kris Jenner apparently still doesn't know much about Caitlyn Jenner. In fact, the momager admits she's still adjusting to Caitlyn's transition that made headlines earlier this year.

"It's hard, you know, it's really, really hard," Kris admits to Access Hollywood. "What I have realized in all of this is that everyone handles stuff a different way. No matter what it is, you know. We're all people. We all have different emotions."

Asked if she can call her ex by her new name Caitlyn, the 59-year-old reality TV star replies, "No." She reveals that she calls Caitlyn by her last name. "I say 'Jenner,' " she shares. 

Kris additionally reveals that she's "getting to know" Caitlyn slowly. "I just thought she would be a little bit different. Bruce had a distinct personality and, you know, had definite characteristics. And Caitlyn has some different ones, I feel," she explains.

Asked if they can ever be great friends one day, Kris says, "I don't know about curl up on the couch, but she came over for a drink last night. And that was nice.

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