PrepTest 141, Section 3, Question 6
An organism is considered to have an infection(446 more words not shown)
Given the manner in which(27 more words not shown)
- ANothing that lacks(5 more words not shown)
- BPrions are a(6 more words not shown)
- CAll pathogens can(2 more words not shown)
- DPathogens contribute in(7 more words not shown)
- EThere are other(7 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
We have two facts to combine: prions count as pathogens, and prions lack nucleic acid. So any rule saying every pathogen must have nucleic acid is false if the prion theory is correct. Prions are the counterexample.
What we’re looking for
Notice that the task is “must be false.” A statement supported by the discovery is therefore something to eliminate, even if it sounds like an excellent summary.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
This says nothing without nucleic acid can be a pathogen. But prions have no nucleic acid and are pathogens under the theory we're told to accept. Both statements cannot be true, so A must be false.
- B
The account presents prions as a newly discovered kind of pathogen. That is supported, not contradicted.
- C
The opening defines a pathogen as a disease-causing agent in its explanation of infection. The capacity to cause infection is consistent with how the term is being used.
- D
If prions are pathogens and cause CJD, pathogens contribute to CJD. This follows from the theory rather than conflicting with it.
- E
This is precisely what the discovery adds: a class beyond viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites. The old list was incomplete, not the new discovery.
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