BIGDAMNGOD
Until recently, chromosomal evidence appeared to indicate that males were more genetically complex than females. Because men have one X and one Y chromosome, whereas women have two X chromosomes, men possess a number of genes on the Y chromosome that are absent in women. However, the number is not as great as might be expected, because the Y chromosome does not have many genes. The Y chromosome has become corroded by mutation over the 230–300 million years that the X and Y chromosomes have existed. The Y chromosome now possesses only 100 active genes, as compared to an estimated 1,000 on the X chromosome. Although females possess two information-filled X chromosomes, one of the female's two X chromosomes is randomly inactivated. Thus the number of active genes in males and females remains comparable.Scientists have long suspected that X-inactivation does not result in total inactivation of the X-chromosome. A recent study confirmed this, but also produced some unexpected results. The genomic scientists discovered, contrary to their expectation, that 15% of the genes they expected to be inactive were instead protein-producing genes. More surprisingly, an additional 10% showed variable expression: they were activated in some women, and inactive or partially active in others.It has also been found that genes expressed in females on both X chromosomes provide women with a double dose of that genetic material. The second X chromosome provides backup genetic data that can mitigate sex-linked genetic defects in females, and which explains the imbalanced birth rate between boys and girls. Researchers discovered that more evolved genes were expressed at higher levels in women than men. Finally, they found that regarding the 10% of the genes that showed variable expression, none of these were expressed in the same way in any of the women in the study. This evidence indicates that women, but not men, are startlingly diverse genetically from other members of the same sex.Although specifics have not been determined, the implications of these findings have considerable potential. Researchers hope to build on their understanding of sex-linked genetic defects affecting men, such as cancer, infertility and mental disorders. The work may also contribute to an explanation of the elusive behavioral and social differences between men and women, as well as among women.
Q1. The author cites the corrosion of the Y chromosome in the first paragraph in order to account for the fact that
(A)men have a higher incidence of sex-linked genetic defects at birth
(B)women have one X chromosome, whereas men have both an X and a Y chromosome
(C)women have a startling level of expression heterogeneity
(D)even though one of each woman's X chromosomes is at least partially inactivated, women are not significantly less genetically complex than men
(E)women are genetically diverse from both men and other women
Q2. Which of the following situations is most comparable to the description of the research in the second paragraph?
(A)A business manager, hoping to find an economic basis for her business plan, finds some evidence supporting and some countering his plan.
(B)A legal researcher, expecting to find some limited precedent to support her case, instead discovers a multitude and variety of supporting precedent.
(C)A historian seeking to disprove a thesis discovers instead a number of historical documents that would support that thesis.
(D)A doctor runs a number of laboratory tests and discovers that her patient has an exceptionally rare disorder.
(E)An accountant, seeking to provide the best service to her client, decides to conduct a thorough investigation into the client's financial history.
Q3. It can be inferred from the passage that each of the following is likely to be true EXCEPT:
(A)A more evolved gene is less likely to be expressed in men than in women.
(B)Information provided to researchers about the genetic material of females can provide useful information about genetic disorders in males.
(C)The genetic material of two randomly chosen men is more likely to be similar than that of two randomly chosen women.
(D)On an average annual basis, more girls are born than boys.
(E)The activation of some genes on most women's second X chromosome accounts for most of the behavioral differences between men and women.
OFFICIAL SOLUTIONS Q1.
(D) is correct, as it is the only choice that reflects the idea that men and women have approximately the same number of active genes. Even though men have two different chromosomes, and even though women have a partially inactivated X chromosome, “women are not significantly less genetically complex than men.”
(A) is a faulty use of a detail found in the passage. The author mentions sex-linked genetic defects later in the passage, but the corrosion of the Y chromosome it is not used to explain this fact.
(B) distorts a detail found in the passage. Women have two X chromosomes, not one.
(C) is a faulty use of a detail found in the passage. While this fact about expression heterogeneity is true, it is from a different part of the passage, and does not relate to the corrosion of the Y chromosome.
(E) is yet another faulty use of detail, as facts about genetic diversity are discussed later on in the passage and don't relate to the corrosion of the Y chromosome.
Q2.
(B) is correct. The researcher found precedent, as expected, but found much more of it than expected.
(A) begins well, with the business manager finding some of the economic basis he expected. But (A) also has the business manager finding some evidence countering his plan. This is not parallel to the scientist scenario in paragraph two.
(C) has the historian finding only evidence that is against what he expected, or hoped for.
(D) is incorrect because it doesn't deal with the doctor’s expectations, just what she found. The logic in paragraph two consists of both the scientists' expectations and their findings.
(E) is incorrect because it doesn't relate any of the results of the investigation.
Q3,
(A) is supported by the third paragraph, which states that more evolved genes are expressed at higher levels in women than in men. Thus, such a gene is less likely to be expressed in men than women. (A) is therefore incorrect.
(B) is supported by the passage, and so is incorrect. The last paragraph describes how researchers hope to use the findings about female genetics to "build on their understanding" of genetic defects in men. Therefore there must be a link between the two.
(C) is supported by the end of paragraph three, where the author reports that genetic material is "startlingly diverse" among women, but not among men. Thus, between two randomly chosen men and two randomly chosen women, one would expect more genetic similarities between the men. Since (C) is supported, it is incorrect.
(D) is supported by the third paragraph, and is therefore incorrect. Paragraph three mentions the "imbalanced birth rate between boys and girls" in the context of women's extra X chromosome providing "backup genetic data" that can "mitigate sex-linked genetic defects in females." In this context, it can be inferred that the imbalanced birth rate means more girls are born than boys.
(E) is not supported in the text, and is therefore the correct answer. While the last paragraph asserts that the work described in the passage may "contribute to an explanation of the elusive behavioral and social differences" between men and women, there is nothing in the passage to suggest genetics account for most of those differences.