Newswise — The latest innovation in North Pole technology was unveiled at the University of Mississippi Medical Center's annual Santa Institute press conference Dec. 13 in the Norman C. Nelson Student Union on campus.
Designed by Santa Claus and perfected by Medical Center scientists and physicians, a prototype of the "Naughty or Nice" machine was tested on more than 100 first-grade students from Jackson Academy. Fortunately, all of the students registered "nice," although there were a few close calls.
Santa Institute members Dr. David J. Dzielak, Dr. Andrew W. Grady and Dr. William H. Sorey revealed many of Claus' little known secrets and fielded questions from the audience at the annual conference.
Grady, director of the Medical Center's laboratory facilities, recruited the students' participation in an ongoing study to determine the proper reindeer snack. He asked each child to sprinkle the contents of "Reindeer Test Diet A" or "Reindeer Test Diet B" onto their front lawns on Christmas Eve and report which treat seemed more popular.
When asked how Claus is able to make his reindeer fly, Grady admitted the institute members weren't exactly sure. "We know the reindeer are very strong and that they have hollow bones," Grady said.
"But another good reason may be Santa's magic. That's perhaps the best explanation I know."
Sorey, an associate professor of pediatrics at UMC, turned the tables on the students and asked them a profound question: "How old is Santa Claus?"
"Nobody really knows," Sorey said after hearing several guesses. "We know he is at least 347 years old, but he may be as much as a couple of thousand of years old. The real question is not how old he is, but how does he live so long?"
The answer, Sorey said, lies in Claus' propensity for gift-giving.
"You have to have a lot of love in your heart and a lot of joy to give so many gifts," he said. "And that's the secret to a long life."
But the highlight of the conference was the Naughty or Nice machine.
Dzielak, UMC associate vice chancellor for strategic research alliances, explained that a special Santa Claus Emission Tomography (SCET) study conducted by Santa Institute researchers revealed the presence of a unique lobe in Claus' brain.
Called the "Frontotemporoperiotaloccipital Lobe," it helps Santa detect which children have been bad or good, according to Dzielak.
"If a child has been nice, a special part of Santa's brain will become active," Dzielak said. "If a child has been naughty, we have noticed that a different part of his brain lights up.
"As a result of this study, we think we've figured out how Santa knows who has been naughty or nice."
Dzielak unveiled the machine's prototype " a wireless silver headset that uses Bluetooth technology to connect to a shiny silver box with a green light signifying "good" and a red light indicating "naughty."
The students eagerly agreed to test the machine by placing the headset on their heads and watching which light was displayed.
"One of the things we want to do is market this technology," Dzielak said. "Obviously, it would provide important information for moms, dads and teachers."
The machine's results were welcome news to Claus, who belatedly made his first appearance at the annual event.
"It's encouraging to see so many good little boys and girls here today," Claus said. "I want to thank the members of the Santa Institute for taking their time to help me over the last several years and I wish each of you a very merry Christmas."
Children of all ages are invited to submit questions to Santa Claus or to the Santa Institute members by visiting the institute's official Web site www.umc.edu/santa/). Each inquiry will receive a personal reply from a member of the Santa Institute team or from Santa Claus himself.
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