A video showing a "shell-less egg hatching" went viral in China on Monday, surprising those who didn't think it was possible.
The video, first played in a CCTV science show on the same day, showed the 21-day hatching process in clear detail.
This is the first time such a process has been done in China. But the technology was invented more than 40 years ago.
The science
The science behind the process is not complicated. An egg will be hatched, with or without its shell, when the right condition is met.
The right condition can be natural, like a hen trying to give birth to its babies, or man-made, like what's shown in the video.
But it can be hard to meet the conditions, as explained by Li Zandong, a biology professor at China Agricultural University.
"The shell acts as the egg's shield against fungus while providing additional calcium for the baby chicken," she explained in the video.
"Hatching an egg without its shell is like saving a human baby after a premature birth," she added.
The process
The entire process took place inside a cup. Li first put some anti-fungal liquid in the cup, then prepared a membrane with calcium lactate and double-distilled water on it.
The content of the egg was packed inside the membrane before it was put inside the cup.
The cup was then put inside an incubator, which can maintain a stable temperature.
Check out the whole process in the video above.
