The answer lies in a microscopic protein called OC-17. Found only in hens, this protein jump-starts the process of turning calcium into solid eggshell. Without it, no shell could ever form. No egg. No hatch. No new life.

That means no matter how far you rewind the evolutionary clock, you’ll still end up needing a chicken or at least something extremely chicken-like to make the first proper egg.

It’s one of nature’s clever tricks: a living creature has to exist before it can lay the thing that makes more of itself. The egg is iconic, but the chicken was the architect.

So next time someone asks which came first, you can answer with confidence—and science on your side.

BrightBytes #ScienceFacts #WeirdNature #AnimalInsights #EggVsChicken #NatureKnows

Source: Factology