What came first, the chicken or the egg: What came first, the chicken or the egg? It seems that scientists have solved this age-old puzzle. A prehistoric .mal fossil discovered in 2017 has led scientists to the conclusion that eggs were produced long before the first .mals evolved, me.ng they came before the chicken. This research has been published in Nature Journal.
How was this discovery made?
Chromosphaeria perkinsii, a unicellular org.sm found in Hawaii, first appeared at least a billion years ago. Cell division took place in it to form something like an egg.
After this division, the org.sm forms a cluster of cells reminiscent of the blastula, a hollow ball of cells that is characteristic of early .mal embryos.
Scientists at the University of Geneva found that these org.sms form multicellular structures that resemble .mal embryos.
egg first
There is evidence that eggs existed long before .mals appeared. This means that the ability to form embryo-like structures must have existed before the emergence of .mals.
What did the researchers say?
Chromosphaera perkinsii is a unicellular species, but this behavior indicates that multicellular integration and differentiation processes are already present in this species, said Omaya Dudin, lead author of the study.
