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After two weeks of voting, it's time to announce the recipients of the "Best of r/science 2022" awards! Thank you to everyone who participated by sharing and voting for your favorite submissions and comments over the past year. A big thank you to the admins for providing the prize pool for our exclusive awards. The top-scoring entry in each category received 3 months of Reddit Premium while second and third place each received 1 month of Reddit Premium.

Without further ado, the winners:

Most Significant Submission

1. u/rustoo for "The US has increased its funding for public schools. New research shows additional spending on operations—such as teacher salaries and support services—positively affected test scores, dropout rates, and postsecondary enrollment. But expenditures on new buildings and renovations had little impact." [Link]
2. u/Wagamaga for "Covid vaccines prevented at least 330,000 deaths and nearly 700,000 hospitalizations among adult Medicare recipients in 2021. The reduction in hospitalizations due to vaccination saved more than $16 billion in medical costs" [Link]
3. u/marketrent for "For more than 14% of people who use insulin in the U.S., insulin costs consume at least 40% of their available income, a new study finds" [Link]

Most Interesting Submission

1. u/smurfyjenkins for "In 2007, NASCAR switched from leaded to unleaded fuel. After the switch, children who were raised near racetracks began performing substantially better in school than earlier cohorts. There were also increases in educational performance relative to students further away." [Link]
2. u/mtoddh for "Utah's DWR was hearing that hunters weren't finding elk during hunting season. They also heard from private landowners that elk were eating them out of house and home. So they commissioned a study. Turns out the elk were leaving public lands when hunting season started and hiding on private land." [Link]
3. u/shiruken for "Medicare could have saved an estimated $3.6 billion buying generic drugs at Mark Cuban's direct-to-consumer online pharmacy according to an analysis of 89 drugs available for purchase on the platform." [Link]

Most Interesting Submission Below 1,000 Karma

1. u/Wagamaga for "Inability to stand on one leg for 10 seconds in mid to later life linked to near doubling in risk of death. Aound 1 in 5 participants failed to pass the test. The inability to do so rose in tandem with age, more or less doubling at subsequent 5 year intervals from the age of 51–55 onwards." [Link]
2. u/giuliomagnifico for "In a first, scientists have captured on video all the steps a virus follows as it enters and infects a living cell in real time and in three dimensions, using advanced imaging called lattice light sheet microscopy" [Link]
3. u/Avieshek for "Large study challenges the theory that light alcohol consumption benefits heart health" [Link]

Most Optimistic or Uplifting Submission

1. u/Wagamaga for "Women vaccinated against COVID-19 transfer SARS-CoV-2 antibodies to their breastfed infants, potentially giving their babies passive immunity against the coronavirus. The antibodies were detected in infants regardless of age – from 1.5 months old to 23 months old." [Link]
2. u/MistWeaver80 for "Replacing red meat with chickpeas & lentils good for the wallet, climate, and health. It saves the health system thousands of dollars per person, and cut diet-related greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 35%." [Link]
3. u/HugNup for "An hour-long stroll in nature helps decrease activity in an area of the brain associated with stress processing" [Link]

Best Comment

1. u/Robo-Connery provides context on the fusion "breakthrough" achieved by the National Ignition Facility [Link]
2. u/DuploJamaal explains in detail the efficacy of transitioning as a treatment for gender dysphoria [Link]
3. u/Andromeda321 summarizes their new paper about a black hole ejecting matter two years after shredding a star [Link]

Best ELI5

1. u/PHealthy explains horizontal gene transfer of antibiotic resistance in bacteria [Link]
2. u/Ugly_socks explains how our brain communicates with the nervous system of our digestive tract [Link]
3. u/wlwyvern summarizes a study's findings on hormone blockers and hormone replacement therapy in transgender and gender-diverse adolescents [Link]

Water Is... Dry? (Most interesting submission or comment that goes against conventional wisdom)

1. u/smurfyjenkins for "Since 1982, all Alaskan residents have received a yearly cash dividend from the Alaska Permanent Fund. Contrary to some rhetoric that recipients of cash transfers will stop working, the Alaska Permanent Fund has had no adverse impact on employment in Alaska." [Link]
2. u/mossadnik for "Small study suggests money can buy happiness — for households earning up to $123,000. In a six-month experiment, people who received cash transfers of $10,000 generally reported feeling happier than people who did not receive the payment." [Link]
3. u/MotherHolle for "Female emission at orgasm (squirting) confirmed in new study to release fluid from the bladder." [Link]

Congratulations to all our winners and thank you for participating in r/science. See you next year!

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