Scientists More or Less Solve Timeless Conundrum

Researchers in London have recently published findings that claim an answer to the age-old question, “what came first, the chicken or the egg?”

Long story short, it’s the chicken.

In a paper entitled “Structural Control of Crystal Nuclei by an Eggshell Protein,” the scientists discussed the discovery of ovocledidin-17, a protein found only in chicken ovaries and eggs. This protein, they contend, must be present in the ovaries of the chicken in order for the egg to form.

As reported by the Daily Mail, Sheffield University’s Dr. Colin Freeman stated that, “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.”

However, in an interview with CNN, the same Dr. Freeman said that the conclusions weren’t as clear-cut as one might think. “I would argue that the concept of an eggshell came about way before the chicken, it’s dinosaur or even pre-dinosaur thing. That’s something to talk to an evolutionary biologist about probably,” he said.

Apparently the research was meant to gain insight as to the formation of shells in order to apply the findings to other fields, namely medicine. As it turns out, the results re-sparked interest in the chicken-egg riddle, but failed to come to a satisfying conclusion. It seems that the debate rages on.