Simon Rietveld of Amsterdam university and Ilja van Beest won an alternative Nobel prize on Thursday evening for discovering that asthma symptoms can be treated with a roller-coaster ride.

They received the prize at Harvard University where the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony takes place each year to honour scientists whose research is not only useful but also makes people laugh.
The event is organised by the science comedy magazine Annals of Improbable Research and several Harvard student groups.