Telomerase is an enzyme that is produced only in cells that are actively dividing. For this reason it is generally absent from body tissues in adults. Bone marrow is an exception to this rule, however, since even in adults, bone marrow cells continually divide to replace old blood cells. Cancers are another exception, because their cells are rapidly dividing.

The information provided most strongly supports which of the following?

A. Telomerase is the only enzyme that is present in cancerous cells but absent from cells that are not actively dividing. can't be supported - we don't have information on other enzymes
B. In children, the only body tissues from which telomerase is absent are those in which cells are not rapidly dividing. can't be supported - telomerase is produced in dividing cells but that doesn't mean it is present in every tissue that has dividing cells
C. The presence of telomerase in bone marrow is no indication of bone marrow cancer. Telomerase is present in actively dividing cells. In adults, bone marrow cells and cancer cells actively divide. Since the cells may be normal bone marrow or cancerous, the presence of telomerase in these cells does not necessarily indicate bone marrow cancer.
D. Cancer of the bone marrow develops more rapidly than cancer growing in any other kind of adult tissue. can't be supported - no evidence of the relative cell division rates
E. The level of telomerase production is always higher in cancerous tissue than in noncancerous tissue can't be supported - we only know that it is present sometimes in both, but not to what extent

The passage tells us that Telomerase (T) is only produced in cells that are actively dividing. Because of this, T is "generally absent" in adults.

However, there are two exceptions. T is present in adults':

(1) Bone marrow, which is continually dividing, and
(2) Cancer, in which cells are rapidly dividing.

So, bone marrow and cancer are exceptions to the rule that T is generally absent in adults. The reason why T is present in these particular cells is because they are dividing.

Which answer choice is most strongly supported by this information?


There is nothing in the passage to tell us telomerase is the only enzyme that is present in cancerous cells but absent from other cells. The passage only talks about telomerase but that doesn't mean other enzymes can't follow the same pattern.

For this reason, (A) is out.


You're right that "rapidly" and "actively" are not necessarily similar. This gives us a reason to eliminate (B): the passage tells us that telomerase is produced only in cells that are actively dividing. We're not worried about the speed of the division -- the passage implies that the cells could be dividing rapidly or they could be dividing slowly. As long as they're dividing, they will still produce telomerase.

This gives us the justification to eliminate (B).


From the passage, we know that telomerase will generally be absent from body tissues of adults. One of the exceptions to this rule is cancer cells. So, you would expect to find telomerase in an area where a person has cancer.

However, the other exception to this rule is bone marrow. The passage tells us bone marrow cells are "continually" dividing and are producing telomerase. Since these cells are always producing telomerase in their normal function, the fact we find telomerase in bone marrow is no indication of bone marrow cancer.

(C) is looking good, let's hold onto it for now.


The only information the passage gives us about cancer is that cancer cells produce telomerase. There is no information in the passage about the speed at which various cancers develop.

We can rule (D) out. Let's take a look at (E):

We're told that the two adult body tissues that produce telomerase are bone marrow cells and cancer cells, but we're not given any information about which of these types of cells produces telomerase more quickly.

From the information in the passage, we can't tell whether the level of telomerase production is always higher in cancerous cells than in noncancerous cells. It might be higher in bone marrow cells, we can't tell.

In addition, we have no idea about the level of telomerase production in children's tissues, whether cancerous or noncancerous.

This means we can eliminate (E), leaving us with (C) as our answer.

I hope that helps!
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Telomerase is an enzyme that is produced only in cells that are actively dividing.
Key fact

For this reason it is generally absent from body tissues in adults.
Result of that fact. Because adults have grown up - they don't need to get any more new cells

Bone marrow is an exception to this rule, however, since even in adults, bone marrow cells continually divide to replace old blood cells.
Here is an exception to the rule

Cancers are another exception, because their cells are rapidly dividing.
Here is another exception to the rule

The information provided most strongly supports which of the following?
So we have a fact, and 2 places where it doesn't work. What can this be applied to?

A. Telomerase is the only enzyme that is present in cancerous cells but absent from cells that are not actively dividing. Key word that immediatly worries me is 'only'. We have no evidence that T is the 'only' enzyme in cancer cells
B. In children, the only body tissues from which telomerase is absent are those in which cells are not rapidly dividing. We have no evidence for this. It sort of makes sense, but no definite evidence for it
C. The presence of telomerase in bone marrow is no indication of bone marrow cancer. This looks good. If a certain enzyme is present in non cancerous bone marrow, then it can't be evidence of cancer.
D. Cancer of the bone marrow develops more rapidly than cancer growing in any other kind of adult tissue. This is not mentioned anywhere, nor can it be implied. Where is there any mention of speed?
E. The level of telomerase production is always higher in cancerous tissue than in noncancerous tissue Again, not mentioned. No implication if it grows faster or slower in any particular conditions

Hope that helps.

James

stuck b/w C and D... not even sure either is right, but the exceptions seem to be independent, so presence of telomerase in bone marrow is no indication of bone marrow cancer (C)

as far as D, I think it is too broad...

<phew> Close one b/w B and C, and I got it right C.

A) Not necessarily. We only dicussed Telomerase, other enzymes that fit the bill may exist, but are not discussed here.
B) The question mentions that Telomerase is only produced in cells that are actively dividing, but it does not mention that it is produced in all cells that are actively dividing. It may not be present in some of the cells.
C) True.
D) Not mentioned.
E) Not mentioned.
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A. Telomerase is the only enzyme that is present in cancerous cells but absent from cells that are not actively dividing. Could be true or could not be true. Stimulus states that telomerase is generally absent from body tissue. Furthermore, it's a exaggeration: "Generally" <> "only".
B. In children, the only body tissues from which telomerase is absent are those in which cells are not rapidly dividing. This is another exaggeration; nowhere in the necessary condition say cells must "rapidly" divide.
C. The presence of telomerase in bone marrow is no indication of bone marrow cancer. OK - Since bone marrow and cancer are exceptions, this must be inferred.
D. Cancer of the bone marrow develops more rapidly than cancer growing in any other kind of adult tissue. This is another exaggeration; nowhere in the necessary condition say cells must "rapidly" divide.
E. The level of telomerase production is always higher in cancerous tissue than in noncancerous tissue Could be true/could not be true.

IMO C

Hi James,
I've a doubt here.
In inference type of questions we pick the must be true options. However, in option C, can we infer "The presence of telomerase in bone marrow is no indication of bone marrow cancer," on solid grounds? , because telomerase can be present in cancer cells ,and so it may be present in bone marrow cancer cells as well.
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Telomerase is an enzyme that is produced only in cells that are actively dividing. For this reason it is generally absent from body tissues in adults. Bone marrow is an exception to this rule, however, since even in adults, bone marrow cells continually divide to replace old blood cells. Cancers are another exception, because their cells are rapidly dividing.

The information provided most strongly supports which of the following?

A. Telomerase is the only enzyme that is present in cancerous cells but absent from cells that are not actively dividing
Cannot be inferred as the passage doesn't say that Telomerase is the only enzyme

B. In children, the only body tissues from which telomerase is absent are those in which cells are not rapidly dividing.
We are talking about actively dividing and not rapidly dividing.

C. The presence of telomerase in bone marrow is no indication of bone marrow cancer.
That can be inferred as presence of telomerase indicates that bone marrow tissues are actively dividing - Correct

D. Cancer of the bone marrow develops more rapidly than cancer growing in any other kind of adult tissue.
Cannot be inferred - We are not talking about the rapid growth of cancer

E. The level of telomerase production is always higher in cancerous tissue than in noncancerous tissue
Cannot be inferred as level of telomerase is not compared. The presence or absence is discussed.
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Don't understand why D does not work... The argument says that "cancer cells are rapidly dividing".. If cancer is placed on bone marrow, which cells are also dividing, speed of cancer should be enhanced - no? It is like a boat which goes along the river flow, in my mind.. mejia401 plumber250 VeritasPrepKarishma can anyone help please? Thanks in advance!

Data 1 : Cancers are another exception, because their cells are rapidly dividing
Data 2: bone marrow cells continually divide to replace old blood cells.

It doesn't mean that both will add and increase the rate of dividing.

"It is like a boat which goes along the river flow" is a good example.

How do you know if the boat is going in the same direction as that of the river.

I hope this is clear.
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Thanks a lot! Tough question..

the argument tells us "Telomerase is in: (i) kids cells that are actively dividing, (ii) kids & adults cancer cells, and (iii) kids and adults bone marrow"

For those confused between B and C.

B = "rapidly" does not = "actively". for all we know the cells that are dividing actively are dividing once a year, which is actually really slowly
C = telomerase is in bone marrow, and not because of cancer. this is correct, see above point (iii)

Hi,

Could someone help to explain this one, why choice E is considered "Not sure/No information"?

According to the given information, "telomerase" is found only in some cells actively dividing (such as bone marrow, cancers... in adults), so why couldn't we conclude that because it is not found elsewhere, "the level of telomerase production is always higher in cancerous tissue (which has telomerase) than in noncancerous tissue (which does not have telomerase)"?

Thanks for helping!
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Thanks James.

I was able to eleminate all but C.However, was not sure why C is correct

Hi abhishek03050,

How did you eliminate choice E?

As I understand, the given information is:
Telomerase is only in cells that are actively dividing, including Bone marrow cells and Cancer cells
=> So we expect that Telomerase presents in cancerous tissues, and NOT in noncancerous tissues, right?
=> So why couldn't we conclude that the level of Telomerase production in cancerous tissues (which has such production) is higher than that in noncancerous tissues (which does not have such production)?

Thank for your help :D
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Option "E" is talking about "Levels"...
No information given about the same..
Hope my understanding is clear

Enzyme T is present in all kinds of cells that are actively dividing <- First line of Stimulus.

Further down the stimulus, we learn that bone marrow and cancer are 2 exceptions of the rule mentioned in 2ns line of stimulus. Meaning -> Enzyme T is produced in both cancerous and noncancerous tissues. However, we have not been given any data to compare the level of this enzyme in any tissue. All we know is that Cancerous cells divide rapidly. We don't know whether this rate is maximum or, as a matter of fact, whether this rate affects the production of Enzyme.
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This question has been giving many people a lot of trouble, and the truth is that the reason there are so many doubts is that the question has issues, as some of the wording does not quite clearly state what the question's creator felt that it states. So let's define what the issues are.

First let's define what they are not. Answer choices A, D and E, are fine. Each of them says something that clearly cannot be inferred from what the prompt says.

A does not have to be true. There could be all manner of differences between cancerous cells and cells that are not actively dividing.

D cannot be inferred, as what the prompt say about bone marrow does not clearly indicate anything about the rate at which bone marrow cancer grows.

E cannot be inferred as the prompt does not indirectly or directly support any conclusions about relative levels of telomerase production. It merely provides a binary set of situations, cells in which telomerase is produced and cells in which telomerase is not produced.

Ok so, with A, D, and E out, we are left with the two problematic answer choices.

First let's talk about B, "In children, the only body tissues from which telomerase is absent are those in which cells are not rapidly dividing."

Since C is the OA, the creator of this question clearly felt that B cannot be inferred from the prompt, and here is the logic underlying that stance.

For all we know, while the prompt says that telomerase is only produced by cells that are dividing, it is possible that not all cells that are dividing produce telomerase. That cells that are dividing may not produce telomerase seems possible, and this logic means that B cannot be inferred.

However, there are aspects of the wording of the prompt that could be taken to indicate that actually all dividing cells produce telomerase.

The prompt says, "Bone marrow is an exception to this rule, however, since even in adults, bone marrow cells continually divide to replace old blood cells." The prompt also says, "Cancers are another exception, because their cells are rapidly dividing."

The implication that one could take from those statements is that SINCE BONE MARROW CELLS AND CANCER CELLS DIVIDE, THEY ARE EXCEPTIONS. The prompt does not say that since they divide they CAN BE exceptions. It say that since they divide they ARE exceptions, which can be taken to mean "SINCE THEY DIVIDE, THEY PRODUCE TELOMERASE."

That somewhat reasonable interpretation of the meanings of the sentences in the prompt could in turn be taken as implying that CELLS THAT DIVIDE PRODUCE TELOMERASE, which supports B.

I believe that that analysis partially explains why B is being chosen by so many people.

Now let's look at C, "The presence of telomerase in bone marrow is no indication of bone marrow cancer."

The issue in C is similar to the issue in B, actually.

Just as B does not say CAN BE AN EXCEPTION, C does not say, IS NOT NECESSARILY AN INDICATION.

C says that telomerase in bone marrow is NO indication of cancer. That's an extreme statement, as telomerase in bone marrow could be coming from cancerous cells. I realize that I am playing with subtle differences, but I think that if C were worded even "The presence of telomerase in bone marrow is NOT AN indication of bone marrow cancer," C would be slightly clearer.

So if the wording in the prompt regarding the bone marrow and cancer exceptions were just slightly clearer, and if a couple of words in C were changed in order to increase clarity, this question would perhaps go from 700 level to 600 level.
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Hi All,

I'm confused whether most strongly supports which of the following question type can be solved by fact finding or by inference.

According the PowerScore CR Bible it should be solved by fact finding approach.

Kindly clarify.