A topic which has been discussed for so long: Chick or Egg, which comes first? Finally, the answer is here. I've taken this article from The Sun Online.BOFFINS have revealed the chicken DID come before the egg after all.
Scientists cracked the age-old puzzle after discovering the formation of eggs is only possible thanks to a protein found in chicken's ovaries.
That means eggs have to be formed in chickens.
The protein — called ovocledidin-17 (OC-17) — speeds up the development of the shell.
Researchers from Sheffield and Warwick universities LAID out their findings in the paper 'Structural Control of Crystal Nuclei by an Eggshell Protein'.
They used a super computer to zoom in on the formation of an egg and realised the protein is vital in kick-starting the crystallisation process.
It works by converting calcium carbonate into calcite crystals which makes up the egg shell.
Dr Colin Freeman, from Sheffield University's Department of Engineering Materials, said: "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.
"The protein had been identified before and it was linked to egg formation but by examining it closely we have been able to see how it controls the process.
"It's very interesting to find that different types of avian species seem to have a variation of the protein that does the same job."
It is hoped the discovery leads to the invention of new materials.
No comments:
Post a Comment