Well, it’s not quite as old as time itself, but it’s a problem that has certainly been around since we had chickens. Or is it eggs? Doesn’t matter, because Nanjing scientists have been the key in a team which has answered the ultimate riddle.
嗯，这个问题并不像时间本身那么古老，但自从我们养鸡以来，这个问题就一直存在。还是鸡蛋？没关系，因为南京科学家是解答这个终极谜题的关键团队。
Previously, some of the greatest minds to have ever existed have worked hard at unravelling the causality dilemma of the chicken and the egg. Aristotle, Macrobius and Plutarch were just three of the mighty philosophers kept awake at night by the paradox.
此前，一些有史以来最伟大的思想家一直在努力解决先有鸡还是先有蛋的因果关系困境。亚里士多德、马克罗比乌斯和普鲁塔克只是被悖论弄得彻夜难眠的三位伟大哲学家。
And some of the not-so-greatest minds, simplifying the conundrum and turning it in to a trick question; no one mentioned what kind of egg. We’ve had eggs for long before we had chickens, e.g. dinosaur eggs. So there’s your answer.
还有一些不那么伟大的头脑，简化了难题并将其变成了一个棘手的问题；没有人提到是什么样的鸡蛋。在养鸡之前我们就已经吃鸡蛋了。恐龙蛋。这就是你的答案。
But Nanjing has now cracked it [apologies, Ed.] for real, and it was science, not philosophy, to the rescue.
但南京现在已经真正破解了这个问题[抱歉，编辑]，并且是科学而不是哲学来拯救的。
Researchers at Nanjing University and the University of Bristol in the UK now believe the chicken-and-egg problem boils down to evidence suggesting modern birds and reptiles’ early ancestors may have given birth to live young, rather than laying eggs from which they later hatch.
南京大学和英国布里斯托大学的研究人员现在认为，先有鸡还是先有蛋的问题归结为有证据表明，现代鸟类和爬行动物的早期祖先可能生下了活的幼崽，而不是先下蛋，然后再孵化。
Or even, it turns out, either or. That’s thanks to the researchers’ study of 51 fossil species and 29 living species which has been published in the monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal, “Nature Ecology and Evolution”.
甚至，事实证明，要么是要么。这要归功于研究人员对 51 种化石物种和 29 种现存物种的研究，该研究已发表在同行评审的每月科学期刊《自然生态与进化》上。
Therein, it all comes down to the concept of Extended Embryo Retention (EER), whereby mothers retain their young for different periods of time, not, as in our case, the standard 9 months.
其中，这一切都归结为延长胚胎保留（EER）的概念，即母亲将其幼崽保留不同的时间，而不是像我们的例子那样，标准的 9 个月。
This they do dependent on the prevalent conditions for their offspring’s survival. Nice and warm and safe out there? You’re entering the world “au naturel”. Cold with loads of predators around? You’re going to need a shell for survival.
它们确实依赖于后代生存的普遍条件。那里又好又温暖又安全吗？你正在进入“自然”的世界。周围有大量掠食者，寒冷吗？你需要一个外壳才能生存。
Jiang Baoyu at Nanjing University was leader in the project. “Sometimes, closely-related species show both behaviours, and it turns out that live-bearing lizards can flip back to laying eggs much-more easily than had been assumed”, said Jiang.
南京大学的蒋宝玉是该项目的领导者。 “有时，密切相关的物种会表现出这两种行为，事实证明，活生生的蜥蜴可以比想象的更容易地恢复产卵，”姜说。
As per the Indian Express, “EER, where the mother keeps the developing young within their body, is quite common among vertebrates today. It is also quite widespread and variable in lizards and snakes. These animals can release the young, either inside an egg or as little wrigglers, during different stages of their development. EER could present an advantage when mothers are able to release their young when temperatures are warm and there are enough food supplies”.
据《印度快报》报道，“EER，即母亲将发育中的幼崽留在体内，在当今的脊椎动物中很常见。它在蜥蜴和蛇中也很普遍，而且变化多端。这些动物可以在不同发育阶段释放幼崽，无论是在卵内还是小蠕动者。当母亲能够在温度温暖且有足够的食物供应时释放幼崽时，EER 可能会带来优势”。
There you have it. World’s-oldest philosophical dilemma solved. The chicken came first. Well done, Nanjing!
给你了。世界上最古老的哲学困境得到解决。鸡先来了。南京，干得好！
