Answering a question that has plagued people for centuries, scientists in England say they have proof that the chicken did in fact come before the egg.
The New York Daily News reports that in a recently published report researchers wrote that “it all comes down to one protein – ovocleddin-17 – which helps in the formation of the eggs hard shell.”
The essential ingredient found in the egg can only be produced by a chicken, according to scientists from universities in Sheffield and Warwick. Therefore, an egg can only exist if it has been inside a chicken.
“It had long been suspected that the egg came first, but now we have the scientific proof that shows that in fact the chicken came first,” said Dr. Colin Freeman, of Sheffield University’s Department of Engineering Materials, London’s Daily Mail reports.
This answer to an age-old debate also has practical uses as well. Scientists believe that “understanding how chickens make egg shells is fascinating in itself but can also give clues towards designing new materials and processes,” said Professor John Harding, a Sheffield University researcher.
“Nature has found innovative solutions that work for all kinds of problems in materials science and technology,” he said, “We can learn a lot from them.”
There you have it.
Comments
karim
December 4th, 2010 - 11:33:20 AM
Eggs can only be produced by chickens? Thank you science. If it weren't for you I'd still think that lizards had the ability to lay eggs. Silly me :P
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