Modern science has solved many mysteries that man has pondered over the ages. We're learning more and more about the myriad lights in the night sky. Our growing understanding of medicine and physiology is allowing people to live longer, fuller lives. And we now know the answer to the riddle, "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?"

What's that? Some of you didn't realize that question had been answered? Don't worry, you're not alone. In searching the Web, I found a number of confusing attempts to explain this dilemma. Consider the following example, which can be found here:

"In prebiotic chemistry on Earth billions of years ago, zinc most likely was the first effective nonenzymatic polymerase. Zinc remains an essential component of all DNA and RNA polymerases examined today. With a poly C template, Zn2+ ions alone can catalyze the assembly of an activated GMP derivative (guanosine 5'-phosphoimidazolide) into poly G chains 30 to 40 residues in the natural 3'-5' linkage. Although other metals are catalytic, Zn2+ ions produces the greatest fidelity.1 Zinc's function as a nonenzymatic polymerase suggests an inorganic answer to the age-old question, 'Which came first the chicken or the egg?' "

It's really not this hard, folks. Sit back, and I'll fill you in on how modern evolutionary theory quite handily tackles this conundrum.

The easy answer is that chickens and all other birds evolved from dinosaurs, which were laying eggs hundreds of millions of years before the first chicken appeared. Therefore, the egg came first. But that doesn't satisfy the ardent philosopher, who argues that the question is not meant to include eggs that produced dinosaurs. The only relevant egg in this problem is one from which hatched a chicken.

The true spirit of the question is best shown in its probable precursor, which is the following, supposedly never-ending series of questions:

Q. Where did the chicken come from?

A. An egg.

Q. Where did the egg come from?

A. A chicken.

Q. So where did the chicken come from?

A. An egg.

(Etc.)

The question can only be finally answered by finding the first chicken. That is our task.

So what qualities define true chicken-ness?

Did the chicken evolve directly from a dinosaur or, as is more likely, from some later creature that we would also classify as a bird? Did it evolve on its own, or was it selectively bred from a domesticated, non-chicken ancestor? At what point in its evolutionary process did a mere wildfowl beget a chicken?

Agreeing on this point could be difficult. Given a detailed history of its evolution, we might each choose a different generation for that first deep-fryer candidate. So, for the purposes of this discussion, I'm going to leave that determination entirely up to you.

Pretend you've been given a computer CD set containing a photo of every generation between a featherless dinosaur and this year's top prize Rhode Island Red. Also included is genetic information, behavioral descriptions, sound files of the animals' calls, and anything else you require. It's your job to search through it and find the animal you believe should be considered the first chicken.

After much perusal, and several three-piece dinners, you finally make your decision.

Now, look at that first chicken's mother. It is not a chicken. You have just decided that. Let's call it a "wildchick."

Between the chicken and the wildchick there is an egg. A wildchick laid it, but a chicken hatched out of it. Is it a chicken egg or a wildchick egg?

This is irrelevant. While species names change over time, an egg remains an egg. The fact that it produced a chicken satisfies our semantic and philosophical requirements.

Now let's try our "unending" series again:

Q. Where did the chicken come from?

A. An egg.

Q. Where did the egg come from?

A. A wildchick.

To put it chronologically, the wildchick preceded the egg, which preceded the chicken. Therefore, the egg came first.

Creationists, of course, would argue this. The Book of Genesis is very specific in its telling of the creation of beasts and birds, which were then expected to multiply. But let's not poke a stick in that hornet's nest now; that's a topic for another day.

If you see it differently, please add your theory to our forum. For those who still contend that the chicken came first, an interesting (but wrong) proposal that supports this conclusion can be found here.