The oohs and oompahs are in good company!

Abstract

Very few words in the dictionary start with oo- . There is oops, and oomph, and oom-pah. There is even ooze, oomiak (variant of umiak, an open animal-skin boat used by Eskimos), oofus (a not-very-smart person), and oodles of oohs. Then you come to words that may sound more familiar to readers of Molecular Reproduction & Development - oolemma, oogonia, and oocyte. These are, of course, the best oo's. These terms derive from the Greek word, oon or oion, meaning “egg”. The ancient Greeks not only gave the egg the oo-, they worshiped it as well - although their approach was maybe just a bit different than us at MRD. Orphicism (sadly, only one o-) was a minority religion in ancient Greece. Its practitioners (among many others) believed human souls were actually immortal and bound to live over and over again. For readers of the Journal, this is akin to the germ line, which is passed on from generation to generation, and is immortal in its own right. Orphicists believed that the fi rst egg (the Orphic egg) was the source of the universe and origin of the fi rst god, Protogonos (which means “first born”), a hermaphrodite who was able to bring both male and female beings into the world. Protogonos and Eros (god of love) got together (cosmic reproduction?) and gave rise to the rest of the gods and humans. But what was the origin of the Orphic egg? Chronos (God of Time) and Ananke (God of Inevitability or Fate) are believed to have created it…. (This allegory screams of mechanisms of reproduction and early development - with much allusion to the implications of in vitro fertilization. Those ancient Greeks may have been onto something!) While many would like to re-establish Orphicism -if only for the egg-worshiping- know that contemporary egg lovers have an alternative day: World Egg Day! This year the international celebration of World Egg Day was October 13th, 2017. The celebration entailed many different events to many different people, but currently it is not about celebrating the germinal vesicle, meiosis, or the oolema, oogonia, or cortical granules. Instead the nature of the celebration is about the nutrient content, benefits to consuming, and sales promotion of chicken eggs - sponsored, of course, by The International Egg Commission. The IEC was formed in 1964 with representation in over 80 countries - Greeks included! (Now you can even like them on Facebook! Eggs are everywhere!) And, I must point out, the mission statement of the IEC highly overlaps with that of MRD: International cooperation in all sectors of the egg industry encourage development of better statistics and (market) intelligence for eggs and egg products, encourages hygenic production of eggs, and publishes such information. But not to worry if you missed it this year - World Egg Day comes around again in October of 2018 - begin your planning now! If egg religion, egg eating, or egg research does not captivate you, know the oo- still has you covered. The International Egg Art Guild - much like readers of and contributors to MRD - are devoted to the promotion of the art (sadly, not ART, artifi cial reproductive technologies) of egg decorating. IEAG members seek to raise the quality of egg decorating to the highest level, and to develop interest in the art through education, methodology, and exhibition. They even have their own Egg Art Guild tote bag! While my egg-art mind races to imagine new technologies in fl uorescent labeling, optogenetic approaches to view the egg and its functionality better, or even a new MRD VISIONS submission, the IEAG is actually more interested in how the egg can transmit a painting or a story, or become a prized piece for one's decorative shelf (think of the ornate eggs made by the Russian goldsmith Peter Carl Fabergé, on commission by the Czar as gifts for his family). The IEAG even offers a Master's program to train the best of the best. So, don't fret, readers of MRD, we are in good company. The oo- has brought validation to our love and worship of the egg. Our colleagues in the egg visual arts and in the egg culinary arts may have much to learn from the artifi cial reproduction that takes place in the clinic or the lab, but my expanded egg mind envisions opportunities for future collaboration! Oh yeah - and further down within the oo- section is oosperm! Gender equality? Not really; it is a lessused term for a fertilized egg - yes, a zygote. What else have we been [fortunately] missing all these years? Gary M. Wessel Cameron S.C.C.C. Wessel