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Re: A team of researchers from MIT studied the effects of [#permalink]
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Practicegmat wrote:
I marked (B)
Can anyone explain why the correct answer is not B ?

"In another study, probiotic microbes were not found to produce any significant health benefits"

This option weakens the chance that the mice became leaner and healthier because of the yogart, but may be for something else.


Dear Practicegmat,

We do not know anything about the other study. It might have been flawed. So without knowing anything more than its conclusion , we cannot use it to weaken the conclusion of this study.
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Re: A team of researchers from MIT studied the effects of [#permalink]
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Marcab wrote:
SravnaTestPrep wrote:
The following question is based on an article in Scientific American:

A team of researchers from the Massa­chusetts Institute of Technology studied the effects of yogurt on mating. The researchers took a group of 40 male mice and 40 female mice and either fed the animals a high-fat, low-fiber, low-nutrient diet meant to mimic junk food or fed them standard mouse meals. They then supple­mented half of each diet group with vanilla-flavored yogurt.In mating experiments, yogurt-eating males inseminated their partners faster and produced more offspring than control mice. Conversely, females that ate the yogurt diets gave birth to larger litters and weaned those pups with greater success. The researchers concluded that the probiotic microbes in the yogurt help to make the animals leaner and healthier, which indirectly improves sexual machismo.

Which of the following if true, would most weaken the conclusion reached by the researchers?

A.Many of the mice in the control group died soon after the experiment
B.In another study, probiotic microbes were not found to produce any significant health benefits
C.Yogurt is not the only food which contains a high concentration of probiotic microbes
D.Mating advantage of the yogurt eating mice reduced in a few days after they stopped taking yogurt
E.The female yogurt eating mice were healthier than their male counterparts


The answer lies in the last statement of the stimulus.
Quote:
the probiotic microbes in the yogurt help to make the animals leaner and healthier,
.
To weaken the conclusion, if we are able to produce any negative effect which helps in the deterioration of the health of the mice, then we can find the required answer.
Only a provides that there is some negative effect of probiotic microbes in yogurt.
Hence straight A.


Hai,

Could you clarify my doubt??

''In mating experiments, yogurt-eating males inseminated their partners faster and produced more offspring than control mice.''

From the previous quote, I understood that the ''control mice'' are the ones that were not fed with yogurt. As stated in option A, How yogurt had a negative effect on them, ?? Pl clarify.

Thanks.
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Re: A team of researchers from MIT studied the effects of [#permalink]
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friend29 wrote:
Marcab wrote:
SravnaTestPrep wrote:
The following question is based on an article in Scientific American:

A team of researchers from the Massa­chusetts Institute of Technology studied the effects of yogurt on mating. The researchers took a group of 40 male mice and 40 female mice and either fed the animals a high-fat, low-fiber, low-nutrient diet meant to mimic junk food or fed them standard mouse meals. They then supple­mented half of each diet group with vanilla-flavored yogurt.In mating experiments, yogurt-eating males inseminated their partners faster and produced more offspring than control mice. Conversely, females that ate the yogurt diets gave birth to larger litters and weaned those pups with greater success. The researchers concluded that the probiotic microbes in the yogurt help to make the animals leaner and healthier, which indirectly improves sexual machismo.

Which of the following if true, would most weaken the conclusion reached by the researchers?

A.Many of the mice in the control group died soon after the experiment
B.In another study, probiotic microbes were not found to produce any significant health benefits
C.Yogurt is not the only food which contains a high concentration of probiotic microbes
D.Mating advantage of the yogurt eating mice reduced in a few days after they stopped taking yogurt
E.The female yogurt eating mice were healthier than their male counterparts


The answer lies in the last statement of the stimulus.
Quote:
the probiotic microbes in the yogurt help to make the animals leaner and healthier,
.
To weaken the conclusion, if we are able to produce any negative effect which helps in the deterioration of the health of the mice, then we can find the required answer.
Only a provides that there is some negative effect of probiotic microbes in yogurt.
Hence straight A.


Hai,

Could you clarify my doubt??

''In mating experiments, yogurt-eating males inseminated their partners faster and produced more offspring than control mice.''

From the previous quote, I understood that the ''control mice'' are the ones that were not fed with yogurt. As stated in option A, How yogurt had a negative effect on them, ?? Pl clarify.

Thanks.


Hi,

The negative effect was not in the yogurt but in the meal provided to the control mice
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Re: A team of researchers from MIT studied the effects of [#permalink]
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Marcab wrote:
SravnaTestPrep wrote:
The following question is based on an article in Scientific American:

A team of researchers from the Massa­chusetts Institute of Technology studied the effects of yogurt on mating. The researchers took a group of 40 male mice and 40 female mice and either fed the animals a high-fat, low-fiber, low-nutrient diet meant to mimic junk food or fed them standard mouse meals. They then supple­mented half of each diet group with vanilla-flavored yogurt.In mating experiments, yogurt-eating males inseminated their partners faster and produced more offspring than control mice. Conversely, females that ate the yogurt diets gave birth to larger litters and weaned those pups with greater success. The researchers concluded that the probiotic microbes in the yogurt help to make the animals leaner and healthier, which indirectly improves sexual machismo.

Which of the following if true, would most weaken the conclusion reached by the researchers?

A.Many of the mice in the control group died soon after the experiment
B.In another study, probiotic microbes were not found to produce any significant health benefits
C.Yogurt is not the only food which contains a high concentration of probiotic microbes
D.Mating advantage of the yogurt eating mice reduced in a few days after they stopped taking yogurt
E.The female yogurt eating mice were healthier than their male counterparts


The answer lies in the last statement of the stimulus.
Quote:
the probiotic microbes in the yogurt help to make the animals leaner and healthier,
.
To weaken the conclusion, if we are able to produce any negative effect which helps in the deterioration of the health of the mice, then we can find the required answer.
Only a provides that there is some negative effect of probiotic microbes in yogurt.
Hence straight A.



in the stimulus it is stated that "yogurt-eating males inseminated their partners faster and produced more offspring than control mice" so it is clear that control group didn't eat yogurt. so it is completely irrelevant if they die as stated in A. The answer is B.
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Re: A team of researchers from MIT studied the effects of [#permalink]
khosru wrote:
Marcab wrote:
SravnaTestPrep wrote:
The following question is based on an article in Scientific American:

A team of researchers from the Massa­chusetts Institute of Technology studied the effects of yogurt on mating. The researchers took a group of 40 male mice and 40 female mice and either fed the animals a high-fat, low-fiber, low-nutrient diet meant to mimic junk food or fed them standard mouse meals. They then supple­mented half of each diet group with vanilla-flavored yogurt.In mating experiments, yogurt-eating males inseminated their partners faster and produced more offspring than control mice. Conversely, females that ate the yogurt diets gave birth to larger litters and weaned those pups with greater success. The researchers concluded that the probiotic microbes in the yogurt help to make the animals leaner and healthier, which indirectly improves sexual machismo.

Which of the following if true, would most weaken the conclusion reached by the researchers?

A.Many of the mice in the control group died soon after the experiment
B.In another study, probiotic microbes were not found to produce any significant health benefits
C.Yogurt is not the only food which contains a high concentration of probiotic microbes
D.Mating advantage of the yogurt eating mice reduced in a few days after they stopped taking yogurt
E.The female yogurt eating mice were healthier than their male counterparts


The answer lies in the last statement of the stimulus.
Quote:
the probiotic microbes in the yogurt help to make the animals leaner and healthier,
.
To weaken the conclusion, if we are able to produce any negative effect which helps in the deterioration of the health of the mice, then we can find the required answer.
Only a provides that there is some negative effect of probiotic microbes in yogurt.
Hence straight A.



in the stimulus it is stated that "yogurt-eating males inseminated their partners faster and produced more offspring than control mice" so it is clear that control group didn't eat yogurt. so it is completely irrelevant if they die as stated in A. The answer is B.


I would like to quote the last line, "the probiotic microbes in the yogurt help to make the animals leaner and healthier".
What I mean is that what probiotic microbes in other diets do, I dont care. What I am concerned with is that if probiotic microbes in yogurt are gud or bad. Since B does nothing, so I shall kick B out of contention.

Please let me know if I am unable to clarify myself.
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Re: A team of researchers from MIT studied the effects of [#permalink]
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A: Opens up the possibility that the yogurt eating mice did not actually have enhanced mating capabilities, but rather that the non yogurt eating mice (control) had diminished mating capabilities

another reason B may not be the credited answer is because it fails to address the probiotic microbes --> improved physique --> improved mating aspect of the argument. There is no rule that a physically fit/lean individual has to be in good health (and, conversely, that an overweight individual has to be in poor health)....jmo

A is definitely not perfect either, but seems to directly attack the final conclusion, whereas B seems to attack the (intermediary?) conclusion as a device to get at the final conclusion
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Re: A team of researchers from the Massa­chusetts Institute of Technology [#permalink]
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Yogurt - eating males became more sexually active - inseminated faster and produced more offspring
Yogurt - eating females gave birth to more little mice

Conclusion - Probiotic microbes in yogurt --> make animals healthier and leaner, which indirectly improves sexual machismo

B. We are not aware of the conditions and factors in the other study. Out of scope
C. Just because some other food might also contain high concentration of probiotic microbes doesn't make yougurt bad.
D.If anything this is a mild strengthener as it reconfirms that yougurt caused the mating advantage.
E.Male v/s female health doesn't weaken that yogurt causes good health.

A. It seems to suggest that mating advantage might not be indicative of good health . Weakens

Answer A :)
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Re: A team of researchers from the Massa­chusetts Institute of Technology [#permalink]
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A team of researchers from the Massa­chusetts Institute of Technology studied the effects of yogurt on mating. The researchers took a group of 40 male mice and 40 female mice and either fed the animals a high-fat, low-fiber, low-nutrient diet meant to mimic junk food or fed them standard mouse meals. They then supple­mented half of each diet group with vanilla-flavored yogurt.In mating experiments, yogurt-eating males inseminated their partners faster and produced more offspring than control mice. Conversely, females that ate the yogurt diets gave birth to larger litters and weaned those pups with greater success. The researchers concluded that the probiotic microbes in the yogurt help to make the animals leaner and healthier, which indirectly improves sexual machismo.

Which of the following if true, would most weaken the conclusion reached by the researchers?

A. Many of the mice in the control group died soon after the experiment.
You cannot say they are healthier and they died. May be they are healthier as expected thereby weakening the conclusion.

B. In another study, probiotic microbes were not found to produce any significant health benefits.
(We are not sure whether the remaining aspects of that study or conditions of experiment are similar or not. Moreover not much significant does not mean there are no health benefits. It just says not much.)

C. Yogurt is not the only food which contains a high concentration of probiotic microbes.
(they did not say yogurt is the only food which contains probiotic microbes. they just said it contains them. not relevant)

D. Mating advantage of the yogurt eating mice reduced in a few days after they stopped taking yogurt.
(This supports the conclusion saying yogurt improves sexual machismo.)

E. The female yogurt eating mice were healthier than their male counterparts.
(The conclusion regarding both sections of mice and yogurt. This comparison is irrelevant.)
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Re: A team of researchers from the Massa­chusetts Institute of Technology [#permalink]
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im not convinced with the OA..
My reasoning as below

group fed with junk food:20/40 were fed ypgurt
group fed with normal mice diet:20/40 were fed with yogurt
according to premise :"They then supple­mented half of each diet group with vanilla-flavored yogurt."

thr answer choice says Many which can be equated to 51%-100%

how do we now for sure in this that the mice that died had infact been fed with y0gurt .it could include the control gourp not fed with yogurt as well.
Experts let me know where i am going wrong
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Re: A team of researchers from the Massa­chusetts Institute of Technology [#permalink]
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A. Many of the mice in the control group died soon after the experiment.

But control group = all mice under study. So dead mice can be those ,which had or never had yogurt. This can only weaken if the dead mice were from the group which consumed yogurt. Confused :(
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Re: A team of researchers from the Massa­chusetts Institute of Technology [#permalink]
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I do not agree with the OA. Please find below my reasoning. Can anyone help? VeritasPrepKarishma, bb ,egmat, mikemcgarry, ChrisLele

A control group in any experiment is a group of subjects that closely resemble the experimental group but do not receive the experiment drug ( in this case- yogurt). A control group serves as a reference to compare with the experimental group.

Experiment group - Yogurt mice,
Control group - Mice who are not given yogurt.

A. Many of the mice in the control group died soon after the experiment. If the mice in the control group dies, it means yogurt is required for survival. If anything, it strengthens the conclusion

B. In another study, probiotic microbes were not found to produce any significant health benefits. - Conclusion talks about probiotic microbes in yogurt

C. Yogurt is not the only food which contains a high concentration of probiotic microbes. - Though not a strong weakening point, this implies that the results are based on 2 diets, junk and mouse meals and maybe probiotic microbes in these food could have been the contributor and not the probiotic microbes in the yogurt as the conclusion states.

D. Mating advantage of the yogurt eating mice reduced in a few days after they stopped taking yogurt. - Irrelevant

E. The female yogurt eating mice were healthier than their male counterparts. -Irrelevant
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Re: A team of researchers from the Massa­chusetts Institute of Technology [#permalink]
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Don't agree with the OA provided either as A does not specify which control group it refers to... Awaiting clarity.
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Re: A team of researchers from the Massa­chusetts Institute of Technology [#permalink]
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dayavenket wrote:
I do not agree with the OA. Please find below my reasoning. Can anyone help? VeritasPrepKarishma, bb ,egmat, mikemcgarry, ChrisLele

A control group in any experiment is a group of subjects that closely resemble the experimental group but do not receive the experiment drug ( in this case- yogurt). A control group serves as a reference to compare with the experimental group.

Experiment group - Yogurt mice,
Control group - Mice who are not given yogurt.

A. Many of the mice in the control group died soon after the experiment. If the mice in the control group dies, it means yogurt is required for survival. If anything, it strengthens the conclusion

B. In another study, probiotic microbes were not found to produce any significant health benefits. - Conclusion talks about probiotic microbes in yogurt

C. Yogurt is not the only food which contains a high concentration of probiotic microbes. - Though not a strong weakening point, this implies that the results are based on 2 diets, junk and mouse meals and maybe probiotic microbes in these food could have been the contributor and not the probiotic microbes in the yogurt as the conclusion states.

D. Mating advantage of the yogurt eating mice reduced in a few days after they stopped taking yogurt. - Irrelevant

E. The female yogurt eating mice were healthier than their male counterparts. -Irrelevant



according to me the answer should be A only,the research on the basis of health of offspring concluded that mice would be healthy & being mice healthy they are able to produce better offspring
what if they dont hv a representative sample of control group.there research would be flawed
remember they concluded health on basis of offspring`s health
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Re: A team of researchers from the Massa­chusetts Institute of Technology [#permalink]
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The correct answer should be "C". The conclusion states it is not Yogurt but the probiotic microbes in Yogurt which make these mice leaner and healthier. If the other mouse meals contained probiotic microbes that could be the reason for leaner and healthier mice. Hence "C" seems to suggest that. In "A" control group suggests these mice were not a part of the experiment. Hence they were not fed Yogurt. So their death does not prove anything.
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Re: A team of researchers from the Massa­chusetts Institute of Technology [#permalink]
dayavenket wrote:
I do not agree with the OA. Please find below my reasoning. Can anyone help? VeritasPrepKarishma, bb ,egmat, mikemcgarry, ChrisLele

A control group in any experiment is a group of subjects that closely resemble the experimental group but do not receive the experiment drug ( in this case- yogurt). A control group serves as a reference to compare with the experimental group.

Experiment group - Yogurt mice,
Control group - Mice who are not given yogurt.

A. Many of the mice in the control group died soon after the experiment. If the mice in the control group dies, it means yogurt is required for survival. If anything, it strengthens the conclusion

B. In another study, probiotic microbes were not found to produce any significant health benefits. - Conclusion talks about probiotic microbes in yogurt

C. Yogurt is not the only food which contains a high concentration of probiotic microbes. - Though not a strong weakening point, this implies that the results are based on 2 diets, junk and mouse meals and maybe probiotic microbes in these food could have been the contributor and not the probiotic microbes in the yogurt as the conclusion states.

D. Mating advantage of the yogurt eating mice reduced in a few days after they stopped taking yogurt. - Irrelevant

E. The female yogurt eating mice were healthier than their male counterparts. -Irrelevant



IMO if C added a condition that Yogurt is not the only food which contains probiotic microbes and WHICH IS CONSUMED BY THE CONTROL GROUP, it would be more plausible. Otherwise C seems like a mere fact and cannot attack the reasoning.
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Re: A team of researchers from the Massa­chusetts Institute of Technology [#permalink]
"In mating experiments, yogurt-eating males inseminated their partners faster and produced more offspring than control mice."

Yogurt eating mice didn't die. The control mice did. So yogurt is beneficial. Cant be A I think. Am I missing something?
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Re: A team of researchers from the Massa­chusetts Institute of Technology [#permalink]
I am sorry, but I'm am definite that A isn't the right answer. I have a science background and Scientifically, 'control group' means the mice that were not fed yoghurt. Option A strengthens the conclusion. I think C is better, because it puts a doubt that an alternate source of probiotic microbes might be responsible for the results.

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