Recall the experiments of Rous and colleagues. If he had found that filtered cancer cell extract could not cause cancer when injected into healthy animals, what could he have deduced?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Rous's experiments involved filtering cancer cell extracts to remove any cells or large particles, then injecting the filtered extract into healthy animals. If the filtered extract could not cause cancer, it would suggest that the cancer-causing agent was not a small, filterable agent (like a virus), but rather something larger that was removed by the filtering process. This could imply that intact cancer cells, bacteria (which are larger than viruses and would be removed by the filter), or large proteins (which could also be filtered out) might be necessary to cause cancer. Therefore, all of the given choices are correct deductions based on the hypothetical outcome that the filtered extract could not cause cancer.

Recall the Experiments of Rous and Colleagues