Researchers fashion swan egg into sensor to monitor hatching process

(Phys.org) -- Researchers in Britain are confused by the mute swans of Abbotsbury Swannery. They lay four to ten eggs during a laying cycle which lasts generally a couple of days. During that time, they sometimes sit on the eggs laid up to that point, but not long enough to cause the eggs to begin incubation; that doesn’t start until all of the eggs have been laid. So why do they bother at all beforehand? It seems like a waste of energy, which birds as a general rule, tend to avoid. That’s what this new research aims to find out. The group have taken a real egg, sawed off one end and fitted it inside with electronics embedded in rubbery silicon.

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