The goal of this study was to measure the thickness of egg shells without any contact and by utilizing a nondestructive method that sends infrared light beam on the egg. We obtain measurement resolutions on the order of 7 μm up to a penetration depth of 1.7 mm from the actual surface of the egg shell. The measurement results we obtained show that optical coherence tomography can be used to accu...

A new type of turtle egg fossil was established: Emydoolithus laiyangensis oogen. et oosp. nov.. Based on its elliptical morphological shape, rigid eggshells, and eggshell characteristics, it is different from other types of round chelonian egg fossils. It is the second chelonian egg fossil found in Cretaceous in China. This discovery shows the Laiyang ecosystem in Late Cretaceous is more diver...

Although several late Cretaceous sauropod colonial nesting sites have been discovered nearly on every continent during the last few decades, no studies have been performed to determine the factors that underpinned the choice of these specific sites. Here, we report the first definitive evidence of a group of sauropods that nested repetitively and purposely at a Cretaceous hydrothermal site at S...

Although the temporal overlap between human dispersal across Australia and the disappearance of its largest animals is well established, the lack of unambiguous evidence for human-megafauna interactions has led some to question a human role in megafaunal extinction. Here we show that diagnostic burn patterns on eggshell fragments of the megafaunal bird Genyornis newtoni, found at >200 sites acr...

A central question in biology is how developmental mechanisms are altered to bring about morphological evolution. Drosophilids boast a remarkable diversity in eggshell-appendage number-from as few as one to as many as nine, depending on the species. Appendage patterning in Drosophila melanogaster is well characterized, inviting candidate-gene-based approaches that identify the developmental mec...

We present results from an experimental investigation of the indentation of nonspherical pressurized elastic shells with a positive Gauss curvature. A predictive framework is proposed that rationalizes the dependence of the local rigidity of an indented shell on the curvature in the neighborhood of the locus of indentation, the in-out pressure differential, and the material properties. In our a...

Mycoplasma synoviae (M. synoviae) can cause respiratory disease, synovitis, peritonitis, egg apical abnormalities or a subclinical infection. The importance of M. synoviae is well established in broilers but only a few studies have been conducted in layers. In the present study, the prevalence of M. synoviae in commercial layer flocks was determined by ELISA using egg yolk antibodies. Subsequen...

Microbiological analyses of chicken eggs in Recife and Salvador have shown a high occurrence of Salmonella in the egg shells and yolks. Likewise, the occurrence of Salmonella plus coagulase-positive staphylococci in Coalho cheese reached alarming levels. The data revealed a significant risk of infections and intoxications from consuming these foods in the cities.

The Japanese quail lays eggs with colourful and patterned shells which make the eggshell colour difficult to classify. In this study, the method of measuring colour of patchy eggs using image analyses and its power to discriminate among individual variation were established. Estimated repeatability for egg colour and proportion of patterned areas was high (>0.58), suggesting intermedíate or hig...

Penetration of the hatching egg shell by microorganisms results in embryonic mortality, weak chicks, high chick mortality, and poor chick growth. The most effective sanitation system involves treating the eggs as soon as they are collected from the nest and before microorganisms penetrate the shell. Several recent research studies have examined the effectiveness, safety and ease of use of commo...