Critical Reasoning

With the emergence of biotechnology companies, it was feared that they would impose
silence about proprietary results on their in-house researchers and their academic consultants.
This constraint, in turn, would slow the development of biological science and engineering.
Which of the following, if true, would tend to weaken most seriously the prediction of scientific
secrecy described above?
A. Biotechnological research funded by industry has reached some conclusions that are of
major scientific importance.
B. When the results of scientific research are kept secret, independent researchers are
unable to build on those results.
C. Since the research priorities of biotechnology companies are not the same as those of
academic institutions, the financial support of research by such companies distorts the
research agenda.
D. To enhance the companies' standing in the scientific community, the biotechnology
companies encourage employees to publish their results, especially results that are
important.
E. Biotechnology companies devote some of their research resources to problems that are
of fundamental scientific importance and that are not expected to produce immediate
practical applications.

OA after some discussion...