#25 - Global Reference, Must Be True, Author's Perspective

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

The correct answer choice is (B).

Answer choice (A):

Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice.

Answer choice (C):

Answer choice (D):

Answer choice (E):

This explanation is still in progress. Please post any questions below!

[mokkyukkyu]

Hi,

Why is B correct and E wrong?
I thought E is correct because in the last paragraph, the author introduces other scientists and cast a doubt about Steele's theory I thought...the author also says "does it actually occur"? This seems the author suspects the theory...

[Clay Cooper]

Hi mokkyukkyu,

Thanks for your post. Can you give us any more information about what you need help with? Have you reevaluated the question to see if you can find support for the correct answer? Or, now that you know the one you picked was incorrect, can you see why that is? Have you tried?

We can be useful to you in explaining things that still elude you after you have looked at them and tried to work your way through them. It doesn't seem like that's happening here, though.

[ChicaRosa]

I'm trying to understand why B is the correct answer?

I originally chose E for this one but after reviewing it I realized it's wrong because in ln 46-47 it says that evolutionary mechanisms are never observed directly, so they have to make due with circumstantial evidence which I think fits answer choice B better. Also, it's never mentioned in the passage that if a hypothesis isn't proven then it's a speculation and not a science.

Is my line of reasoning correct?

Thank you !

[Charlie Melman]

Hi Chica,

Your analysis is spot-on. Those lines directly confirm answer choice (B). They're too strong for answer choice (E) to be correct. The author doesn't say that these observations are outside the realm of science because they're not made directly.

[amacmill]

I'm still struggling with this question. In line 31, it says "such reverse transcription of RNA back into DNA has been observed many times in other contexts," referring to the transcription of altered RNA back into DNA. It then goes on to say that what hasn't been observed is that DNA being transferred to the reproductive genes. So i'm not seeing what details in the passage suggest that this process of reverse transcription that's been observed in other contexts hasn't been observed in immune cells.

[AthenaDalton]

Hi amacmill,

Great question!

The passage doesn't discuss the RNA-to-DNA process much, so we really only have the first couple of sentences of paragraph three to go on. Here, the author tells us that Steele "hypothesizes" that the altered RNA in an immune cell reverts back to DNA. This suggests that Steele has not yet observed this process himself.

If Steele had actually observed this reverse transcription process in an immune cell, the author wouldn't call it a hypothesis. The author might instead describe it as a confirmation he made in an experiment, or otherwise indicate that such a process does in fact occur.

I hope that helps clarify things. Good luck studying!

Athena