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02 Jun 2026, 08:37
Kudos
Bookmarks
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.
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
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.
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
02 Jun 2026, 08:37
Kudos
Bookmarks
Official Solution:
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.
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
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
This is an IMPLY/INFER/SUGGEST question, so we should expect the correct answer to restate factual content from the passage, but in a way that requires at least one logical step (e.g., turning “My brother is taller than me” into “I’m shorter than my brother”) from the original statement in the text.
Here we need to account for two different specifications in the prompt:
• not “mitotically stable”
• in epithelial cells located in stomach lining
Let’s ‘collect’ what the passage says about these specifics one by one:
• Not mitotically stable: As described in the passage, mitotically stable epigenetic marks can be transferred to newly manufactured cells in the body. If an epigenetic mark is NOT mitotically stable, then, it can therefore be inferred that the mark will not survive the division process that creates new cells, and therefore will NOT be transferred to new cells from the cell(s) where it is currently found. (This is an example of the kind of “logical step” needed for IMPLY/INFER/SUGGEST questions.) So, a non-mitotically-stable mark will not be passed on from the cell where it is currently found.
• In the epithelial cells of stomach lining: The only thing mentioned in the passage about these cells is that they are replaced every few days.
Putting these two facts together, we can come up with the only statement that can be made with logical certainty about the kind of mark described in this problem: Since that mark is ‘stuck’ in a cell that gets turned over every few days, the genetic effect of the mark can last only a few days (unless it is ‘renewed’ in newer cells by another exposure to whatever caused it in the first place). That’s choice D.
INCORRECT ANSWERS:
(A) Since a non-mitotically-stable epigenetic mark cannot be passed on to other cells in general, it is extremely unlikely that such a mark could possibly be passed on to offspring by any means whatsoever.
(B) DNA methylation and histone modification are described in the text as “the two most studied mechanisms” of epigenetic marking—a statement that implies that there are other, less studied mechanisms as well—and nowhere in this passage does the author ever assign one of these mechanisms to any particular instance of epigenetic marking.
(C) Non-mitotically-stable epigenetic marks specifically CANNOT be passed on to cells that are newly manufactured by division, and the passage contains nothing to suggest the possibility that epigenetic marks could spread to other body cells by any means other than the process of new cell creation by division.
(E) The passage mentions the “regeneration” of cells in the body of a living organism. The “regeneration” of epigenetic marks, which would presumably entail the disappearance and then reappearance of a mark and its effect on gene expression - is not mentioned anywhere.
Answer: D
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.
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
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
This is an IMPLY/INFER/SUGGEST question, so we should expect the correct answer to restate factual content from the passage, but in a way that requires at least one logical step (e.g., turning “My brother is taller than me” into “I’m shorter than my brother”) from the original statement in the text.
Here we need to account for two different specifications in the prompt:
• not “mitotically stable”
• in epithelial cells located in stomach lining
Let’s ‘collect’ what the passage says about these specifics one by one:
• Not mitotically stable: As described in the passage, mitotically stable epigenetic marks can be transferred to newly manufactured cells in the body. If an epigenetic mark is NOT mitotically stable, then, it can therefore be inferred that the mark will not survive the division process that creates new cells, and therefore will NOT be transferred to new cells from the cell(s) where it is currently found. (This is an example of the kind of “logical step” needed for IMPLY/INFER/SUGGEST questions.) So, a non-mitotically-stable mark will not be passed on from the cell where it is currently found.
• In the epithelial cells of stomach lining: The only thing mentioned in the passage about these cells is that they are replaced every few days.
Putting these two facts together, we can come up with the only statement that can be made with logical certainty about the kind of mark described in this problem: Since that mark is ‘stuck’ in a cell that gets turned over every few days, the genetic effect of the mark can last only a few days (unless it is ‘renewed’ in newer cells by another exposure to whatever caused it in the first place). That’s choice D.
INCORRECT ANSWERS:
(A) Since a non-mitotically-stable epigenetic mark cannot be passed on to other cells in general, it is extremely unlikely that such a mark could possibly be passed on to offspring by any means whatsoever.
(B) DNA methylation and histone modification are described in the text as “the two most studied mechanisms” of epigenetic marking—a statement that implies that there are other, less studied mechanisms as well—and nowhere in this passage does the author ever assign one of these mechanisms to any particular instance of epigenetic marking.
(C) Non-mitotically-stable epigenetic marks specifically CANNOT be passed on to cells that are newly manufactured by division, and the passage contains nothing to suggest the possibility that epigenetic marks could spread to other body cells by any means other than the process of new cell creation by division.
(E) The passage mentions the “regeneration” of cells in the body of a living organism. The “regeneration” of epigenetic marks, which would presumably entail the disappearance and then reappearance of a mark and its effect on gene expression - is not mentioned anywhere.
Answer: D
