Science

Question:

Answers:

1. 
   santari Teacher
   Doctorate

   Great question! You're not the first to ask :)

   Most experts agree it was the egg. Here's why:

   All living organisms evolve over time based on changes in their DNA. A long, long time ago two birds that were not chickens mated. They may have looked something like chickens, but their DNA did not match the DNA of chickens today. When the male's sperm cells and the female's ovum came together, the DNA of the first chicken was realized. This may have come about through genetic mutation or the combination of the DNA.

   The zygote that resulted from this occurence contained the DNA of the first chicken. The zygote being inside the egg, the first chicken existed inside the egg.

   Of course, the answer begs the question: How did the first birds come about?

   Sources:

   http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/science/05/26/chicken.egg/

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   Posted by santari on Saturday August 23, 2008 at 6:08 PM
   
   

2. 
   mvball Teacher
   College - Sophomore

   This question points out a really important idea - in sexually reproducing species, life does not "begin", it continues - from generation to generation.  You exist because your parents, and their parents, and their parents, passed on some of their genes to you by way of eggs and sperm!  As far as chickens are concerned, a really interesting research paper was published in June of 2008.  Although it is pretty technical, I think you will be able to understand some of the figures, and the researchers' conclusion - that domesticated chickens are descended from three different species of Jungle Fowl that lived in Asia, including India.  (Wild descendents of their wild ancestors still live there today.) BTW - This research points out another important idea - that closely related species sometimes can and do interbreed.

   Sources:

   http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-2148-8-174.pdf

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   Posted by mvball on Tuesday September 9, 2008 at 4:35 AM
   
   

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