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Question 1
N
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
(N/A)
Question Stats:
100% (00:53) correct
0%
(00:00) wrong
based on 10
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
Question 2
N
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
(N/A)
Question Stats:
100% (00:08) correct 0%
(00:00) wrong
based on 4
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
Question 3
N
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
(N/A)
Question Stats:
100% (00:25) correct 0%
(00:00) wrong
based on 3
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
Question 4
N
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
(N/A)
Question Stats:
100% (00:18) correct 0%
(00:00) wrong
based on 2
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
For much of the twentieth century, hereditary traits were understood to be transmitted exclusively through the nucleotide sequences in DNA. While environmental conditions massively impact each individual’s capability to reach genetic potential, it was generally thought impossible for those impacts to be heritable. Although this simplistic model has provided decades of enormous real-world productivity, recent evidence from the emerging field of epigenetics has revealed complications that researchers are only beginning to comprehend.
Epigenetic marks are chemical changes to DNA or associated structures that alter gene expression without changing the DNA’s nucleotide sequence. The two most studied mechanisms are DNA methylation, in which methyl groups attach to cytosine bases and silence nearby genes, and histone modification, in which chemical tags on the proteins around which DNA is wound loosen or tighten the helical shape of the DNA molecule itself, making genes more or less accessible to transcription machinery. Crucially, some of these marks are mitotically stable: they persist through cell division and thus can be transmitted into new cells—enabling the marks to persist longer than the cells’ regenerative cycle, which ranges from a few days for the epithelial cells lining the stomach up to decades for cells in the body’s largest bones.
The same quality also enables the transmission of epigenetic marks into sperm and egg cells, theoretically making possible the phenomenon of transgenerational epigenetic inheritance—the passing of epigenetic marks from parents on to their offspring through the reproductive process. Rodent studies have found altered gene expression patterns in the offspring of animals exposed to stressors such as toxins or nutrient deficiencies, even when the offspring have not been exposed to those stressors. In one well-known set of experiments, male mice fed a low-protein diet sired offspring with markedly altered hepatic gene expression, even though the offspring were raised on standard diets.
Skeptics caution that demonstrating true epigenetic inheritance requires ruling out alternative explanations, including behavioral transmission, microbiome transfer, and conventional genetic mutation. Whether such inheritance operates in humans remains altogether unknown, largely because the human genome has been shown to undergo extensive epigenetic reprogramming during the embryonic and early fetal stages—a process that would be expected to erase most parental marks.
1. The primary purpose of the passage is to
(A) compare the relative impacts of two possible types of determining factors in genetic inheritance
(B) defend a well-established scientific model against a set of recently proposed theories that challenge it
(C) introduce and examine the current state of evidence for a possible refinement to a long-accepted scientific framework
(D) present recent research findings that upend the central principle of a widely accepted scientific theory
(E) present two possible alternative mechanisms for a widely investigated biological process, with examples of each in animals
(A) compare the relative impacts of two possible types of determining factors in genetic inheritance
(B) defend a well-established scientific model against a set of recently proposed theories that challenge it
(C) introduce and examine the current state of evidence for a possible refinement to a long-accepted scientific framework
(D) present recent research findings that upend the central principle of a widely accepted scientific theory
(E) present two possible alternative mechanisms for a widely investigated biological process, with examples of each in animals
2. If an epigenetic mark altering gene expression in epithelial cells of the stomach lining is NOT mitotically stable, then it can most clearly be inferred that this alteration
(A) can be passed to offspring only through sperm or egg cells
(B) comes about through either DNA methylation or histone modification
(C) may spread to cells outside the stomach
(D) will not persist for more than a few days without re-exposure to its cause
(E) will regenerate itself within that region of the body via a cyclical mechanism
(A) can be passed to offspring only through sperm or egg cells
(B) comes about through either DNA methylation or histone modification
(C) may spread to cells outside the stomach
(D) will not persist for more than a few days without re-exposure to its cause
(E) will regenerate itself within that region of the body via a cyclical mechanism
3. The author most likely cites the low-protein diet experiment with male mice in order to
(A) demonstrate that transgenerational epigenetic effects can manifest in offspring without direct environmental exposure
(B) prove that dietary modifications can create heritable changes in the nucleotide sequences of DNA
(C) provide an example of the behavioral transmission of epigenetic modifications of gene expression
(D) suggest that the effects of significant fundamental lifestyle changes in a parent animal are likely to redound to its offspring
(E) support the claim that epigenetic marks can be passed from parent to offspring outside the reproductive process
(A) demonstrate that transgenerational epigenetic effects can manifest in offspring without direct environmental exposure
(B) prove that dietary modifications can create heritable changes in the nucleotide sequences of DNA
(C) provide an example of the behavioral transmission of epigenetic modifications of gene expression
(D) suggest that the effects of significant fundamental lifestyle changes in a parent animal are likely to redound to its offspring
(E) support the claim that epigenetic marks can be passed from parent to offspring outside the reproductive process
4. The passage implies that epigenetic reprogramming of the human genome during the embryonic and early fetal stages is relevant to the debate over transgenerational inheritance because it
(A) cannot possibly co-occur in the same individual as transgenerational epigenetic inheritance
(B) confirms the presence of transgenerational epigenetic inheritance in human beings
(C) narrows the range of possible mechanisms of epigenetic modification to human genes
(D) raises the possibility that transgenerational epigenetic inheritance may be active in cases where it leaves no lasting evidence
(E) suggests that human genes are more amenable than rodent genes to epigenetic modification than that of rodents
(A) cannot possibly co-occur in the same individual as transgenerational epigenetic inheritance
(B) confirms the presence of transgenerational epigenetic inheritance in human beings
(C) narrows the range of possible mechanisms of epigenetic modification to human genes
(D) raises the possibility that transgenerational epigenetic inheritance may be active in cases where it leaves no lasting evidence
(E) suggests that human genes are more amenable than rodent genes to epigenetic modification than that of rodents
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Question #1: The OA will be automatically revealed on Saturday 2nd of May 2026 10:29:30 PM Pacific Time Zone
Question #2: The OA will be automatically revealed on Saturday 2nd of May 2026 10:29:30 PM Pacific Time Zone
Question #3: The OA will be automatically revealed on Saturday 2nd of May 2026 10:29:30 PM Pacific Time Zone
Question #4: The OA will be automatically revealed on Saturday 2nd of May 2026 10:29:30 PM Pacific Time Zone
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