PrepTest 141, Section 3, Question 2
An organism is considered to have an infection(446 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(7 more words not shown)
- AUnderstanding the cause(15 more words not shown)
- BCJD is contagious,(4 more words not shown)
- CThe prevention of(13 more words not shown)
- DAlthough patients with(20 more words not shown)
- EThe prion theory(9 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
Start with the change in scientific understanding. Scientists assumed all pathogens contained genetic material because all the known kinds did. CJD research uncovered a protein pathogen without that material. At minimum, the old assumption now needs revision.
What we’re looking for
That's a grounded inference. We should be much more cautious about how CJD spreads between people, how best to prevent it, or how quickly every patient declines, because those are separate claims.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
The discovery required scientists to reconsider their traditional account of infection. The opening assumption and the protein exception in the next paragraph directly support that change.
- B
The text doesn't establish how contagious CJD is. A chain reaction among proteins inside one body doesn't tell us how easily the disease passes from one person to another.
- C
No genetic prevention strategy is proposed, much less ranked as the most efficient. Don't turn a discussion of genetic material in pathogens into a claim about preventing abnormalities in patients' genes.
- D
The third paragraph explicitly says there are wide variations both in incubation times and in how aggressively the disease progresses. D keeps the first variation and denies the second.
- E
Initial skepticism doesn't establish weak current support. The final paragraph says subsequent research has supported the conclusion that prions form a new class of pathogens.
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