The chicken, researchers say!

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? The chicken, researchers say!

By Michael Sheridan DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Wednesday, July 14th 2010, 12:18 PM 

University of Warwick Professor Mark Rodger and Dr. David Quigley, who helped develop the study, say chickens came before the egg, answering an age old question.

It's a question that has plagued man for centuries: Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Well, scientists in England say they've found the answer: The chicken! 

Researchers wrote in a recently published report that it all comes down to one protein - ovocledidin-17 - which helps in the formation of the egg's hard shell.

This essential ingredient in the formation of the egg can only be produced inside a chicken, scientists from universities in Sheffield and Warwick concluded. 

"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," said Dr. Colin Freeman, of Sheffield University's Department of Engineering Materials, London’s Daily Mail reports. 

While scientists feel this discovery answers an age-old question, it could have practical uses, as well. "Understanding how chickens make egg shells is fascinating in itself but can also give clues towards designing new materials and processes," said another Sheffield University researcher, Professor John Harding. 

"Nature has found innovative solutions that work for all kinds of problems in materials science and technology," he said. "We can learn a lot from them."