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Do you think the chicken or the egg came first?

Wed Jul 14 2010 12:20:50

The question that's scrambled scientists and philosophers brains for centuries may have finally be answered.

A team of British researchers say they've cracked it - claiming that it was the chicken that came first.

Scientists from Sheffield and Warwick universities have discovered that eggs only become possible because of a protein found in the chickens' ovaries.

Dr Colin Freeman was part of the team who examined the eggs closely, travelling up to Edinburgh to use a special computer that could "zoom in" on the formation process.

He said: "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 may not follow people's ideas about the chain of evolution but the scientists say their model shows that the protein is crucial to starting the early stages of shell formation.

They found up to six grammes of shell is created every 24 hours once the protein coverts calcium carbonate into calcite crystals which makes up the egg shell.

Dr Freeman says it is an exciting discovery: "'Understanding how chickens make shells is fascinating in itself but can also give clues towards designing new materials."