Need a Friend? Why Not Rent One? | 需要朋友吗？来租一个吧！

Rentafriend.com offers people across the US and Canada a chance to have a platonic companion for a price. In other words, with a paid membership, patrons can rent a friend of their choosing at the cost of about US$10 per hour. All they have to do is enter their zip code, find someone with an attractive profile, and sign up.

The website suggests a variety of reasons for renting a friend. Friends could be rented as travel companions, movie dates, tutors or trainers, workout partners, or just helpful listeners. Or if you're feeling extra friendly, you can sign up and become a friend for rent yourself.

rentafriend.com 租朋友网站提供美国和加拿大的民众一项服务，只要付费，你就有机会享受纯友谊的朋友做伴。换句话说，只要拥有付费的会员身分，用户可以每小时约 10 美金的价格租到自己选择的朋友。他们只需要输入邮政编码，找出个人简介魅力十足的那个人，然后登记即可。

　　这个网站建议各式租友的原因。你可以租一个朋友当作出游的同伴、一起看电影的对象、家教、教练、健身伙伴，或只是一名能有所帮助的倾听者。如果你觉得自己格外友善，也可以登记成为待出租的朋友。

For Your Information

当前最火热的『租朋友』网站，当属 rentafriend.com和 rentalocalfriend.com，网站采会员制，价钱不比交友网站便宜，月费超过 24 美元，收费看服务性质，经电邮协商敲定，每小时从 10 美元到 150 美元都有，最常见是 20 美元到 50美元。

租朋友的动机百百种，有两名大学生在学校喝酒被逮，便租一对『祖父母』到学校会谈。还有妇女租了一名女大学生定期去养老院探访妈妈。有名经常出差的商人，则租一名年轻人到家取信和喂猫。还有人在旅行途中寂寞，就在当地租朋友排遣时间。待租的朋友多介于 20 到 35 岁之间，40 和 50 岁的中年人也不少，之前因为经济不景气，许多失业族加入这一行，希望能有零工收入。会上网租朋友的人，要不是孤独寂寞者，就是有事需要帮忙者。而现在这种租友服务也进军英国，提供需要的民众这项新服务。（数据源：中时电子报、中央社）

Science Answers the Question:

Which Came First, the Chicken or the Egg?

科学家说：先有鸡才有蛋

Scientists wielding a powerful supercomputer have cracked the mystery of which came first, the chicken or the egg. The short answer: the chicken. For a detailed explanation, just check out the long answer contained in the analysis called Structural Control of Crystal Nuclei by Eggshell Protein.

"It had long been suspected that the egg came first, but now we have the scientific proof that shows in fact the chicken came first," said British scientist Colin Freeman. What came first was a particular chicken protein found in the bird's ovaries that governs crystal growth and how it spawns an eggshell overnight. The protein OC-17 is found only in the hard part of the shell, but scientists have long wondered what its role has been in the creation of calcite crystals and an eggshell.

　　科学家利用功能强大的超级计算机破解了『先有鸡还是先有蛋？』的谜题。简答是：先有鸡。而详细的解释则可参见『蛋壳蛋白质晶核的结构控制』里所做的分析。

　　英国科学家柯林‧费里曼表示：『一直以来，大众都猜想是先有蛋，但现在我们有科学证据证实事实上是先有鸡。』何者先出现的关键是一种在鸟类卵巢里的特定蛋白质，它主宰蛋壳晶体的生长和造成蛋壳能一夜成形的原因。这个称做 OC-17 的蛋白质只在蛋壳的坚硬处被发现，但长久以来，科学家都想知道它在方解石晶体和蛋壳成形中所扮演的角色。