des-esseintes Posted May 14, 2004 Share Posted May 14, 2004 Hello, I am a new poster here. My chemistry teacher made a strange announcement last lesson. He said that the egg cell is the largest cell. I can agree. But he also said that a single egg is made up of a single cell! One egg of a hen = One egg cell! Is this true? I'm no biology expert, but I'm quite sure egg cells multiply and create eggs. Anyway, how can you fit a chicken inside one cell? Please confirm my suspicion so I can nail him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
admiral_ju00 Posted May 14, 2004 Share Posted May 14, 2004 it starts as 1 cell but then it spilts into more and more. the hen egg at the point you're refering to is multicelled and differenciated. here's a quick rundown http://www.biology.arizona.edu/cell_bio/tutorials/meiosis/page3.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted May 14, 2004 Share Posted May 14, 2004 Hello' date=' I am a new poster here. My chemistry teacher made a strange announcement last lesson. He said that the egg cell is the largest cell. I can agree. But he also said that a single egg is made up of a single cell! One egg of a hen = One egg cell! Is this true? I'm no biology expert, but I'm quite sure egg cells multiply and create eggs. Anyway, how can you fit a chicken inside one cell? Please confirm my suspicion so I can nail him [/quote'] It's probably because he's a chemistry teacher Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YT2095 Posted May 14, 2004 Share Posted May 14, 2004 just out of curiostity, does that also apply to Human unfertilised eggs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
admiral_ju00 Posted May 14, 2004 Share Posted May 14, 2004 just out of curiostity, does that also apply to Human unfertilised eggs? what? this: I'm quite sure egg cells multiply and create eggs. eggs don't create eggs, they divide/multiply if and when they are fertilized by the sperm. if not, it remains 1 celled 'till it's ejected at that special 1 week a month thing. but i absolutely agree with dave in that this teacher was severly wrong because he's a chemist not a biologist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YT2095 Posted May 14, 2004 Share Posted May 14, 2004 so a human egg if unfertilised is a single cell? that was what I meant. and if that`s correct, how does a human one differ from an unfertilised chicken egg? (other than the obvious! LOL) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blike Posted May 14, 2004 Share Posted May 14, 2004 Seems as if an unfertilized ostrich egg is the largest single cell! (google told me) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YT2095 Posted May 14, 2004 Share Posted May 14, 2004 I was gunna say, with the exception of maybe a dinosaur egg (no idea if they`re huge or not though, but looking at a chicken and it`s egg, I imagine they might be) the Ostrich would be the biggest that leaves me with yet another maybe Nieve question, in Biology I was taught about cells (plant and animal) and although I`m sure I`ve forgotten alot, don`t they have Mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulums (I love that word) Lysosomes and all that other stuff in them too ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted May 14, 2004 Share Posted May 14, 2004 Seems as if an unfertilized ostrich egg is the largest single cell! (google told me) I suppose it would make sense it being the largest egg and all. But then again quite a few things in nature aren't completely logical so it would have hardly surprised me if it was the smallest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felinlasv Posted May 14, 2004 Share Posted May 14, 2004 that leaves me with yet another maybe Nieve question, in Biology I was taught about cells (plant and animal) and although I`m sure I`ve forgotten alot, don`t they have Mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulums (I love that word) Lysosomes and all that other stuff in them too ? Yes indeed, most plantcells do have mitochondria (ATP-production), endoplasmatic reticulum (mainly used for transporting stuff true the cell), lysosomes (contain enzymes to break down lipids) and a whole lot more.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YT2095 Posted May 14, 2004 Share Posted May 14, 2004 do eggs contain all this too then, considering they are a "Cell" also? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skye Posted May 14, 2004 Share Posted May 14, 2004 Eggs are single cells. Human eggs are about 0.1 mm across. Birds eggs are obviously much larger, most of that is cytoplasm. The yolk is part of the cytoplasm, stores of fat and protein and stuff, the egg white is mainly a fluid store I think. Human eggs are much smaller because they don't need all these stores. In order to make these very large cells, the large stores are produced outside the cell. an individual cell just can't produce it all fast enough. In humans, by 'nurse cells' which are similar to eggs but basically are just there to help. I think most of the stuff for bird eggs is made in the liver. Eggs contain everything an animal cell needs though. In some cases, insects mainly I think, they produce extra copies of certain genes, like for ribosomes, so they are able to produce lots of protein during their growth and after fertilisation. Indeed, it's essential that eggs contain everything, as sperm just basically bring DNA to the party. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YT2095 Posted May 14, 2004 Share Posted May 14, 2004 so where would the cell Mitochondria be in a chicken egg? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skye Posted May 14, 2004 Share Posted May 14, 2004 I haven't actually read it but...they'd have to be located throughout the egg in order to provide energy to utilise the stores of molecules. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryn Posted May 15, 2004 Share Posted May 15, 2004 try centrifuging an egg to get some mitochondria from it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms. DNA Posted May 15, 2004 Share Posted May 15, 2004 so where would the cell Mitochondria be in a chicken egg? According to the website below, the yolk is actually an enlarged egg cell, so the mitochondria would have to be there. http://waynesword.palomar.edu/lmexer1.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YT2095 Posted May 15, 2004 Share Posted May 15, 2004 nice link, Thnx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
des-esseintes Posted May 18, 2004 Author Share Posted May 18, 2004 I'm quite confused. Is the chicken egg a single cell or not? How can the chicken foetus grow out of an egg cell, while living inside an egg cell? Doesn't every foetus start from a single multiplying egg cell? Or is this only with mammals? Does anyone have a link to a site with the growth of a chicken egg. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryn Posted May 18, 2004 Share Posted May 18, 2004 For a rather large number of cell divisions the feotus does not grow in size, it just splits the existing cytoplasm in two. The same undoubtedly happens for the chickens. So the egg can be an egg cell, and it divides and differentiates into tissues but doesn't grow. Infact it can't grow as it has no external food source, only what's already in the egg, that why there is so much food and protein in an egg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glider Posted May 18, 2004 Share Posted May 18, 2004 No, a chicken egg is not a single cell. The oocyte is the single cell. The oocyte in a chicken egg is located on the membrane surrounding the yolk sac. If you break open a fertilized chicken egg, you can see the zygote resting on the yolk sac, and blood vessels extending from it. forming a network around the yolk from which it draws nutrients for growth. The egg is just a 'life-support' capsule for the embryo.The fillaments projecting from each end of the yolk sac attach to each end of the shell and act as shock absorbers, keeping the yolk more or less central in the mass of albumin (egg-white). The yolk provides the nutrients for growth and the white provides the water and some protein. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tesseract Posted May 18, 2004 Share Posted May 18, 2004 No, a chicken egg is not a single cell. The oocyte is the single cell. The oocyte in a chicken egg is located on the membrane surrounding the yolk sac. If you break open a fertilized chicken egg, you can see the zygote resting on the yolk sac, and blood vessels extending from it. forming a network around the yolk from which it draws nutrients for growth. The egg is just a 'life-support' capsule for the embryo.The fillaments projecting from each end of the yolk sac attach to each end of the shell and act as shock absorbers, keeping the yolk more or less central in the mass of albumin (egg-white). The yolk provides the nutrients for growth and the white provides the water and some protein. Did you learn this at medical school??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryn Posted May 19, 2004 Share Posted May 19, 2004 Ah, so how big is the egg cell in a chicken egg? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glider Posted May 19, 2004 Share Posted May 19, 2004 Did you learn this at medical school??? No. Basic biology in secondary school, when I was about 14. Ah, so how big is the egg cell in a chicken egg? About 0.1mm dia. as far as I recall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hierarch Posted May 19, 2004 Share Posted May 19, 2004 Off this thread, I am wondering why a hen lay some unfertilized eggs? It seem wasteful for the hen to generate its offspring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryn Posted May 19, 2004 Share Posted May 19, 2004 Well presumably the egg can't be fertilized until it is fully grown, as in human egg cells. So the egg is grown, then you don't let the chicken bonk anyone, and so the egg can't be fertilised. It could also be because humans have bred them that way over thousands of years, those that don't lay unfertilised eggs either get eaten for sunday lunch or don't get the protection of humans and so have a disadvantage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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