Produced by: Manoj Kumar
Scientists in Switzerland may have finally cracked the chicken-or-egg paradox. A single-celled organism older than complex animals hints that eggs existed long before chickens. (Nature study)
Biochemist Omaya Dudin of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology reveals that Chromosphaera perkinsii, a single-celled organism, formed embryo-like structures—suggesting early eggs in life’s blueprint.
“This discovery allows us to go back over a billion years,” says study author Marine Olivetta from the University of Geneva, revealing insights into life’s earliest building blocks. (Science Alert)
First found in Hawaii in 2017, C. perkinsii predates complex animals, forming multicellular colonies similar to early embryos, a process that scientists liken to today’s eggs.
According to Dudin, C. perkinsii demonstrates multicellular coordination, pointing to an evolutionary basis for eggs before animals arrived—suggesting the egg indeed came first.
The discovery offers “primordial egg drop soup,” shedding light on the origins of life, where simple cells started forming complex structures that later enabled multicellular organisms.
In C. perkinsii, cells divide after growth stops, creating an embryo-like structure that survives for a third of its life cycle—an “egg-like” behavior scientists found surprising.
Researchers plan further studies to explore if multicellular development in C. perkinsii evolved independently, shedding more light on life’s journey from single cells to complex beings.
Interestingly, this isn’t the first answer to the chicken-or-egg riddle. In 2018, Australian physicists used quantum mechanics to propose that both could come first—a paradox that may finally have an answer.