Question

"Lonesome George's Genome Offers Clues to Long Life" by Vicky Stein Lonesome George, a wizened Galapagos giant tortoise, was the last of his kind. When a researcher spotted the nearly five-foot-long reptile roaming Pinta Island in 1971, his species had been thought extinct for decades. During the 40 years that followed — until his death in 2012 — Lonesome George was believed to be the only Pinta giant tortoise on the planet. Now, researchers are using the iconic tortoise’s genetic material along with DNA from another long-lived turtle, the Aldabra giant tortoise, to better understand what it takes to live a long life. In a new study published Monday in Nature Ecology and Evolution, the researchers sequenced Lonesome George and his fellow giant tortoises’ genes to compare the common genetic links among other long-living animals — such as naked mole rats, bats, some species of whales and humans. They found a set of genetic adaptations related to cancer suppression, DNA repair and inflammation, laying the groundwork for future experiments into the mechanics of aging. With the new insight into turtle biology, the researchers also hope this analysis might help prevent the long, lonely end of the world’s remaining giant tortoises.“That analysis is very powerful. It distinguishes this paper from many other papers,” said Vadim Gladyshev, a biologist who studies aging at Harvard Medical School and was not involved in the new study. “The paper is an important advance in terms of turtle biology, but in terms of the comparative approach, it is also an important resource.” Why it matters Thanks to this analysis, the researchers were able to narrow down their original list of 3,000 genes to 43 specific sequences that might have contributed to Lonesome George’s long, disease-free life. For researchers who study aging, those will be the next targets for further experiments into how those genes actually change an organism’s life. Understanding those genes could be vital for species related to Lonesome George, said Linda Cayot, science advisor to the Galapagos Conservancy, a group that advocates for the protection of the Galapagos Islands and their animal inhabitants. Their long, slow existence “has been key to their survival — from a time of overexploitation to a time of greater enlightenment and conservation,” she wrote in an email. Lonesome George’s death, Cayot said, inspired scientific interest in giant tortoises and spurred conservation efforts that might protect the remaining species of Galapagos giant tortoises from the same fate. “We even plan to restore a tortoise population to Pinta — Lonesome George’s island,” Cayot wrote. Lonesome George was a conservation icon, Caccone said, but a conservation icon that can also provide insights into human health and aging: Rarely do you find “one genome can do both.” “When you sequence the last animal of a species, how often is the last message it’s sending one of hope for us?” Caccone said. Use the article to answer the question.

Which sentence from later in the text best helps develop the idea expressed in paragraph 2?

(1 point)
Responses

Lonesome George was a conservation icon, Caccone said, but a conservation icon that can also provide insights into human health and aging.
Lonesome George was a conservation icon, Caccone said, but a conservation icon that can also provide insights into human health and aging.

Thanks to this analysis, the researchers were able to narrow down their original list of 3,000 genes to 43 specific sequences that might have contributed to Lonesome George’s long, disease-free life.
Thanks to this analysis, the researchers were able to narrow down their original list of 3,000 genes to 43 specific sequences that might have contributed to Lonesome George’s long, disease-free life.

Their long, slow existence “has been key to their survival — from a time of overexploitation to a time of greater enlightenment and conservation,” she w

Answer 1

"Thanks to this analysis, the researchers were able to narrow down their original list of 3,000 genes to 43 specific sequences that might have contributed to Lonesome George’s long, disease-free life."

This directly develops the paragraph 2 idea by showing a concrete result of the genetic sequencing and how it furthers aging research.