Scientists reveal what came first, #chicken or #egg
People have often debated the question of what came first, the #chicken or the #egg. This is a topic which everyone of all ages #discusses but none of them could find the simple answer about this. But #scientists appear to have answered the #paradox.
The researchers from a study published in the Journal Nature Ecology and Evolution put forth an idea that the ancestors of the current birds and reptiles gave birth to live young.
Giving birth to living young allows the female to better protect her developing embryo until it’s ready to be born.
Researchers from Nanjing and Bristol University challenged the belief that hard-shelled eggs were the key to the success of amniotes — animals whose foetuses develop inside an amnion inside the egg.
The study noted that “the amniotic egg is very different from the anamniotic egg of extant amphibians, which lacks an eggshell and extraembryonic membranes”.
“The amniotic egg consists of a suite of fetal membranes, including the amnion, chorion and allantois, as well as an external shell that can be either strongly mineralized (as in rigid-shelled eggs) or weakly mineralized (as in parchment-shelled eggs),” the study said.
