The passage suggests that if telomere buffers did not exist【小站备考】

One of the most curious structures in cellular biology is the telomere, a length of repeated bases located at the end of every chromosome that, unlike the rest of the DNA strand, carries no useful genetic information. While the telomere seems on the surface to be nothing more than a useless afterthought of DNA, a closer look proves that it is not only important, but also crucial to the functioning of any organism. Indeed, without this mundane structure, every cell division would be a step into senescence, and the onset of old age would begin at birth.

Scientists have found that during cell division not every base of the DNA strand can be replicated, and many, especially those near the end, are lost. If, instead of telomeres, our chromosomes stored valuable genetic information at the end of the DNA strand, then cell division would cause our cells to lose the ability to code for certain information. In fact, many ailments associated with normal old age begin only after the telomere buffer has been exhausted through years of cell division.

Question 17

The passage suggests that if telomere buffers did not exist

A. problems associated with aging would begin earlier in life

B. people would age so rapidly that almost no one would live past childhood

C. cellular senescence would probably be prevented by DNA bases

D. chromosomes would lose the ability to store genetic codes

E. DNA strands would contain only useful genetic information

我的答案： 无

Question 17