Cracking Avian Eggshell Structure (1 of 4) (IMAGE)

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Cracking Avian Eggshell Structure (1 of 4)

Caption

Osteopontin (OPN), key protein found in avian eggshells, is likely responsible for the shells' structure at the smallest scale and corresponding mechanical properties, like how hard certain layers are. This material relates to a paper that appeared in the 30 March 2018, issue of Science Advances, published by AAAS. The paper, by D. Athanasiadou at McGill University in Montreal, QB, Canada, and colleagues was titled, "Nanostructure, osteopontin, and mechanical properties of calcitic avian eggshell."

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[Credit: Carla Schaffer/ AAAS]

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