28/09/2021

Scientists say they have discovered the 'mathematical formula for eggs'.

Foto: Piqsels

Considered a marvel of nature, bird eggs have a perfect structural composition and, therefore, fascinate scientists from different fields. Mathematicians, engineers, and biologists dedicate themselves to studying this seemingly simple structure where the life of approximately 10,500 bird species that have survived since the time of the dinosaurs begins.

Last month, a group of experts from the University of Kent in the United Kingdom, the Research Institute for Environmental Treatment in Ukraine, and the company Vita-Market claimed to have developed a universal mathematical formula capable of describing the egg of any bird found in nature. The work was published in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences , a scientific journal published by the New York Academy of Sciences in the United States.

Until now, all analyses of egg shape had been based on four geometric figures: spherical, ellipsoidal, ovoid, and pear-shaped. In the article, the authors introduced an additional function to the pear-shaped one, developing a suitable mathematical model for a completely new geometric shape, characterized as the last stage of the spherical-ellipsoidal evolution, which is applicable to the geometry of all eggs. The equation is based on four parameters: egg length, maximum width, displacement of its vertical axis, and the diameter at a height of one-quarter of the egg's length.

Professor Darren Griffin, a geneticist at the University of Kent and one of those responsible for the discovery, told the science website Eurekalert! that "biological evolutionary processes such as the formation of an egg must be investigated to obtain a mathematical description as a basis for research in evolutionary biology." He added that the new universal formula can be used in different key disciplines, especially in the food and poultry industry, and should stimulate future research that will have the egg as an object of study.

Multiple applications

Sought after by researchers for years, the new formula represents a significant advance in understanding the shape of the egg itself, as well as how and why it evolved. Because of this, a wide variety of biological and technological applications are expected in different sectors: food research, mechanical engineering, agriculture, and biology. Work on biological systematization and process optimization, such as incubation and poultry selection, will be facilitated by this discovery.

Even architecture and aeronautics, which already use mathematical descriptions of basic egg shapes, could be impacted. Able to withstand maximum loads with minimal material consumption, ovoid shapes are common in architecture and can be found in buildings around the world, such as London City Hall.

Michael Romanov, a visiting researcher at the University of Kent, told the BBC that "this mathematical equation underscores our appreciation for a certain philosophical harmony between mathematics and biology, and for a greater understanding of our universe derived from them, clearly understood in the form of an egg."

Sources: BBC Brazil , University of Kent and Eurekalert !