Chinese researchers have developed transparent artificial eggshells for use in the lab. The point is to create a small, easily regulated medium to grow and test avian embryos in. Scientists often use chicken embryos as models for development, and they need to be able to peek at them as they grow and change. Labs "usually accomplish this by "windowing" the egg - otherwise known as punching a hole in it and covering it up as needed. But scientists at Beijing's Tsinghua University have presented an alternative. According to , the project has created "eggs-on-a-chip" that allow scientists to observe the birds from all sides. The researchers didn't "hatch" living chickens from the artificial eggs, but they did grow them for more than 17 days. The Washington Post

Flying in a V-formation is toughest for the leader, and migrating birds compensate by taking turns so that no one gets exhausted, international researchers say. The authors of the study in the , a US peer-reviewed journal, described the discovery as the "first convincing evidence for 'turn-taking' reciprocal cooperative behaviour in birds." The research is based on 14 northern bald ibis which migrate from Salzburg, Austria to Orbetello, Italy. Each bird wore a data-logging device that allowed scientists to track how individuals acted within the flying V-formation. Researchers found that the "birds changed position frequently within the flock." AFP