Telomerase is an enzyme that is produced only in cells that

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BTGmoderatorAT: Moderator; Posts: 426; Joined: Tue Aug 22, 2017 8:48 pmFollowed by: 1 member

by BTGmoderatorAT » Mon Dec 04, 2017 8:10 pm

Telomerase is an enzyme that is produced only in cells that are actively dividing. For this reason it is generally absent from body tissues in adults. Bone marrow is an exception to this rule, however, since even in adults, bone marrow cells continually divide to replace old blood cells. Cancers are another exception, because their cells are rapidly dividing.

The information provided most strongly supports which of the following?

A. Telomerase is the only enzyme that is present in cancerous cells but absent from cells that are not actively dividing.
B. In children, the only body tissues from which telomerase is absent are those in which cells are not rapidly dividing.
C. The presence of telomerase in bone marrow is no indication of bone marrow cancer.
D. Cancer of the bone marrow develops more rapidly than cancer growing in any other kind of adult tissue.
E. The level of telomerase production is always higher in cancerous tissue than in noncancerous tissue

What's the best approach to determine the answer? Can any experts help?

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Critical Reasoning | Mon Dec 04, 2017 8:10 pm

GMATGuruNY: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 15539; Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 12:04 pmFollowed by: 1906 members; Location: New York, NY; Thanked: 13060 times; GMAT Score:790

by GMATGuruNY » Tue Dec 05, 2017 4:19 am

ardz24 wrote:Telomerase is an enzyme that is produced only in cells that are actively dividing. For this reason it is generally absent from body tissues in adults. Bone marrow is an exception to this rule, however, since even in adults, bone marrow cells continually divide to replace old blood cells. Cancers are another exception, because their cells are rapidly dividing.

The information provided most strongly supports which of the following?

A. Telomerase is the only enzyme that is present in cancerous cells but absent from cells that are not actively dividing.
B. In children, the only body tissues from which telomerase is absent are those in which cells are not rapidly dividing.
C. The presence of telomerase in bone marrow is no indication of bone marrow cancer.
D. Cancer of the bone marrow develops more rapidly than cancer growing in any other kind of adult tissue.
E. The level of telomerase production is always higher in cancerous tissue than in noncancerous tissue

This question stem asks for an INFERENCE: a statement that MUST BE TRUE, given the information in the passage.
One way to approach an inference CR is to apply the NEGATION TEST.
When the correct answer is negated, the passage will be contradicted.

C, negated:
The presence of telomerase in bone marrow is an indication of bone marrow cancer.
This negation contradicts the passage's assertion that telomerase -- an enzyme produced only in cells that are dividing -- is NATURALLY present in bone marrow, since bone marrow cells continually divide to replace old cells.
Since the negation of C contradicts the passage, C is a valid inference: a statement that MUST BE TRUE, given the information in the passage.

The correct answer is C.

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Mo2men: Legendary Member; Posts: 712; Joined: Fri Sep 25, 2015 4:39 amFollowed by: 5 members; Thanked: 14 times

by Mo2men » Tue Dec 05, 2017 3:24 pm

GMATGuruNY wrote:
ardz24 wrote:Telomerase is an enzyme that is produced only in cells that are actively dividing. For this reason it is generally absent from body tissues in adults. Bone marrow is an exception to this rule, however, since even in adults, bone marrow cells continually divide to replace old blood cells. Cancers are another exception, because their cells are rapidly dividing.

The information provided most strongly supports which of the following?

A. Telomerase is the only enzyme that is present in cancerous cells but absent from cells that are not actively dividing.
B. In children, the only body tissues from which telomerase is absent are those in which cells are not rapidly dividing.
C. The presence of telomerase in bone marrow is no indication of bone marrow cancer.
D. Cancer of the bone marrow develops more rapidly than cancer growing in any other kind of adult tissue.
E. The level of telomerase production is always higher in cancerous tissue than in noncancerous tissue
This question stem asks for an INFERENCE: a statement that MUST BE TRUE, given the information in the passage.
One way to approach an inference CR is to apply the NEGATION TEST.
When the correct answer is negated, the passage will be contradicted.

C, negated:
The presence of telomerase in bone marrow is an indication of bone marrow cancer.
This negation contradicts the passage's assertion that telomerase -- an enzyme produced only in cells that are dividing -- is NATURALLY present in bone marrow, since bone marrow cells continually divide to replace old cells.
Since the negation of C contradicts the passage, C is a valid inference: a statement that MUST BE TRUE, given the information in the passage.

The correct answer is C.

Dear Mitch,

What does the passage mean "Cancers are another exception, because their cells are rapidly dividing." what type of exception does it mean here?

Thanks

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GMATGuruNY: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 15539; Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 12:04 pmFollowed by: 1906 members; Location: New York, NY; Thanked: 13060 times; GMAT Score:790

by GMATGuruNY » Tue Dec 05, 2017 3:58 pm

Mo2men wrote:Dear Mitch,

What does the passage mean "Cancers are another exception, because their cells are rapidly dividing." what type of exception does it mean here?

Thanks

Because it is produced only in cells that are rapidly dividing, telomerase is generally absent from the body tissues in adults.
There are two exceptions to this rule.
In other words, there are two cases in which telomerase is PRESENT in adults:
1. It is present in adult BONE MARROW (since even in adults, bone marrow cells continually divide to replace old cells).
2. It is present in adult CANCERS (because their cells are rapidly dividing).

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