Overview
- Colossal Biosciences, which announced Tuesday that 26 chickens hatched in a 3D-printed lattice lined with a silicone membrane, says the device supports full development at normal oxygen levels.
- The team poured the contents of freshly laid fertilized eggs into the open-top shell, added calcium that chicks usually draw from real shells, and watched growth through a clear window.
- Colossal pitches the reusable, size-scalable shell for moa de-extinction and for breeding tough-to-hatch endangered birds, though outside experts call a true moa revival speculative.
- Researchers say similar shell-less methods date back decades and often needed pumped-in oxygen that harmed embryos, so they want evidence that this membrane meaningfully improves survival.
- The company has released no peer-reviewed data, and critics note the natural egg contents still provided most functions, so they describe the device as an artificial eggshell rather than a full artificial egg.