Scientific Mystery Solved?
EmailABC News' Catherine Cloutier reports What came first: the chicken or the egg? It has remained one of life’s unsolved mysteries…until now, that is. British researchers found Monday that the chicken came first. Researchers at Sheffield and Warwick universities stumbled across this answer to the age-old question while contemplating the formation of eggshells. “The research is on the bio-mineralization of the egg shell, particularly on a protein that is key to the production of the eggshell,” Dr. Colin Freeman, of Sheffield University’s Department of Engineering Materials, told ABC News. Scientists had already found that eggshells were in part created by the protein called ovocledidin-17 (also known as OC-17) found in chicken ovaries. The extent of the protein’s involvement in the creation of eggshells, however, was unknown. Using a powerful computing tool called metadynamics and the United Kingdom’s national supercomputer in Edinburgh, the research team found that OC-17 works as an essential catalyst in crystallization, the first stage of eggshell formation. “The protein in the chicken is needed to make the eggshell,” Freeman told ABC News, adding, “You don’t get the chicken egg unless you have the chicken.” And so, after much debate, it is the chicken that proves victorious. But Professor John Harding, of Sheffield University’s Department of Engineering Materials, said that the repercussions of this finding extend beyond the solving of the riddle. “Understanding how chickens make eggshells is fascinating in itself but can also give clues towards designing new materials and processes,” Harding said in a press release. “Nature has found innovative solutions that work for all kinds of problems in materials science and technology – we can learn a lot from them.”
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now answer the enternal question: why the chicken crossed the road? Maybe Obama can shovel some of our tax dollars to answer this question if the researcher who writes the grant modifies the question slightly: why did the Muslim chicken cross the road? Instant federal funding!
Posted by: Ed | July 14, 2010, 12:02 pm 12:02 pm
That’s right the chicken came first. After it was hatched it layed the first egg. How simple. Hmm, hatched from what?
Posted by: Steve B. | July 14, 2010, 12:58 pm 12:58 pm
did I write layed? DUH, LAID.
Posted by: Steve B. | July 14, 2010, 12:59 pm 12:59 pm
Ed
The chicken crossed the road to show the armadillo that it could be done.
Who really cares which came first? Those ‘scientists’ have too much time on their hands and whoever is giving them their grants has too much money to throw around.
Posted by: oonogil | July 14, 2010, 1:29 pm 1:29 pm
I don’t get it.
Dinosaurs were laying eggs long before chickens ever arrived.
You ask me, egg came first.
Chicken eggs from chickens is a no brainer.
Which came first? The chicken or the egg? I guess it depends on what kind of egg.
Posted by: Bulaia | July 14, 2010, 1:45 pm 1:45 pm
Ah ha! (spots comment from article)
“..“You don’t get the CHICKEN EGG unless you have the chicken.”
Posted by: Bulaia | July 14, 2010, 1:48 pm 1:48 pm
The question should have read:
“What came first the chicken or the chicken egg?”
I think the original question is a bit misleading. I think the omission leaves one to ponder about semantics.
Posted by: Bulaia | July 14, 2010, 1:51 pm 1:51 pm
Genius lol WHAT HAPPEN TO COMMONSENSE
WHAT’S THERE TO FIGURE OUT. I WONDER HOW MUCH MONEY WAS WASTED ON THIS.
GOD CREATED HEAVEN AND EARTH ADAM AND EVE. PAIR OF ANIMALS. SO GOD CREATED CHICKEN AND THE CHICKEN PRODUCES EGGS.
THIS IS LIKE SAYING WHAT CAME THE WOMAN OR THE EGG THAT DEVELOPE IN THE BABY. dahhh THE WOMAN.
Posted by: kg07 | July 14, 2010, 2:15 pm 2:15 pm
Was this really and “age-old” question?
Posted by: Gerald | July 14, 2010, 2:45 pm 2:45 pm
Did the researchers look in other egg laying organisms (reptiles) for OC-17 to determine whether a reptile could also lay an egg which then mutated to form a bird and not a repitile showing that the egg came before the chicken?
Posted by: Martin Swanhall | July 14, 2010, 3:06 pm 3:06 pm
Duh…..of course the chicken came first…..doesn’t take a college education to figure this one out……who made the chicken ? GOD of course……
Posted by: kentuckylady717 | July 14, 2010, 3:17 pm 3:17 pm
Who gives a sheiss which came first—the chicken or the egg. (Rhetorical question, ignore it, & it will go away.) I like both chickens & eggs.
Posted by: billwalker | July 14, 2010, 4:01 pm 4:01 pm
Chickens were selectively bred by humans from phesants to produce a bird that had the characteristics that the breeders wanted. At some point in the process, the breeders decided the bird was a chicken, so the chicken came first.
Posted by: Greggw | July 14, 2010, 5:47 pm 5:47 pm
Makes logical sense to me.
Posted by: Robert A. Selwa | July 14, 2010, 5:59 pm 5:59 pm
When one believes that the Most High God-The God of the universe created all living beings and a chicken is a living beings whereas the egg is not then one might agree that the chicken came too be before the egg. However it is understandable that not everyone believe this too be so.
Posted by: Johnnie Ashley | July 14, 2010, 11:09 pm 11:09 pm
I disagree. The chicken and a fertilized egg arrived at the same time. The researchers found protein of egg in the ovaries. What about other egg laying animal or reptiles?
Posted by: Van | July 14, 2010, 11:28 pm 11:28 pm
It was the rooster who came first.
Posted by: Eric | July 15, 2010, 9:27 am 9:27 am
Are you serious? People are working their butts off trying to figure this out. Of course the CHICKEN came first. How about they put this much effort towards something that actually results into useful information. WHAT A WASTE OF TIME!!!
Posted by: Julie | July 15, 2010, 12:41 pm 12:41 pm
The grant wasn’t for solving the riddle, they were researching proteins that form eggshell. Clearly this wasn’t just a way for scientists to waste money, despite the claims from you idiots who didn’t read the whole article. They’re trying to come up with ways to use those proteins.
Posted by: Dan | July 16, 2010, 11:54 am 11:54 am
Thank you Dan. At least someone was smart enough to read the whole article. These small minded people basically read the title and ignore the rest of the information. The lot of you need to get you’re act together.
Posted by: Robert | July 19, 2010, 5:01 pm 5:01 pm
I was going to read the entire article, but then I heard a voice telling me that I should not. I realized that God was giving me directions and I stopped immediately!
Ooops! Sorry. It was just my dog barking. Damn I thought the rapture was coming!
Posted by: Greyghost | July 21, 2010, 11:25 am 11:25 am