Video: Transparent eggshell helps to observe the embryo

The research team at Tsinghua University, China, created a material that mimics natural eggshells, helping to observe what is happening inside the egg.

Experts use artificial shells from transparent polydimethylsiloxane (a silicon polymer) and cultivate bird embryos. Thanks to that, they can see through what's happening in the egg. Washington Post said scientists do not hatch chicks from artificial eggs, but they succeed in raising it for more than 17 days.

Before the invention, the scientists observed the inside of the egg through a "window". It's like we cut a small hole, then peek inside.