Read the given passage carefully and answer the questions that follow.
Until about five years ago, the very idea that peptide hormones might be made anywhere in the brain besides the hypothalamus was astounding. Peptide hormones, scientists thought, were made by endocrine glands and the hypothalamus was thought to be the brains’ only endocrine gland. What is more, because peptide hormones cannot cross the blood-brain barrier, researchers believed that they never got to any part of the brain other than the hypothalamus, where they were simply produced and then released into the bloodstream. But these beliefs about peptide hormones were questioned as laboratory after laboratory found that antiserums to peptide hormones, when injected into the brain, bind in places other than the hypothalamus, indicating that either the hormones or substances that cross-react with the antiserums are present. The immunological method of detecting peptide hormones by means of antiserums, however, is imprecise. Cross-reactions are possible and this method cannot determine whether the substances detected by the antiserums really are the hormones, or merely close relatives. Furthermore, this method cannot be used to determine the location in the body where the detected substances are actually produced. New techniques of molecular biology, however, provide a way to answer these questions. It is possible to make specific complementary DNA’s (cDNA’s) that can serve as molecular probes to seek out the messenger RNA’s (mRNA’s) of the peptide hormones.
Which of the following best describes the structure of the passage?
- AOption (a)
It evaluates the effects of peptide hormones on behavior and cognitive processes in animals.
- BOption (b)
It presents traditional beliefs about peptide hormones and introduces modern detection methods.
- COption (c)
It traces the discovery of peptide hormones and explains their known functions in the brain.
- DOption (d)
It compares peptide hormones with other hormones in terms of production and activity.
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Correct answer
It evaluates the effects of peptide hormones on behavior and cognitive processes in animals.