It's a question that has plagued man for centuries: Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
Well, Scientists say they've found the answer: The chicken!
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 is called ovocledidin-17 (OC-17) that 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment