Battling Cat Allergies with Biotech Reading Answers

Aug 29, 2024

The topic discussed is an academic reading answers topic. Battling cat allergies with biotech Reading Answers has a total of 7 IELTS questions, you have to tell whether the statement is true or false and choose the correct answer among the options.

Candidates should read the IELTS Reading passage thoroughly to recognise synonyms, identify keywords, and answer the questions below. IELTS Reading practice papers feature topics such as Battling cat allergies with biotech Reading Answers. Candidates can use IELTS reading practice questions and answers to enhance their performance in the reading section.

Section 1

BATTLING CAT ALLERGIES WITH BIO-TECH

Humans have had a millennia-long relationship with cats. Over this time, we have turned a ferocious little feline into a doting house cat that meows for its evening meal and snuggles with you on the couch. But despite our mutual adoration, some humans have likely suffered allergies to these felines for a thousand years as well. While we have tried many ways to change the human allergy response to the cat, more recent biotech ideas are all aimed at moulding the cat to the human.

Cats shed a pernicious little protein called Fel d 1, which is found in their saliva and oil glands. Some cats shed more of this protein than other cats - sometimes up to 80 times more - and the amount shed by a single cat will vary from month to month. No cat, whether it be long-haired, short-haired, or with no hair - is Fel d 1 free. Because age-old breeding techniques have failed to eliminate the protein; scientists are now turning their attention to biotechnology as a way to lessen our allergic reactions to cats. Over the last decade, several strategies have targeted Fel d 1, including kibble* coated in an egg-yolk derivative that neutralises the allergen, a vaccine that uses a virus to trick the cat's immune system, and a type of gene therapy that deletes the gene responsible for Fel d 1 generation. To date, the kibble cat food has become widely available in pet stores, the vaccine has been tested on over 100 cats, and although the gene therapy is a long way off, it has been proven in a petri dish.

Yogesh Chandrasekhar, a biochemist who devised the idea to use cat food against Fel d 1, realised that cats spend a lot of time grooming themselves and that this behaviour spreads the allergen all over their fur, which in turn gets all over the owner's couch, clothes, bed, and so on. He wondered whether he could interrupt that process by feeding the cat something that counteracted the protein in their saliva. Chandrasekhar and his team came up with the idea to use egg yolks by injecting a hen with the Fel d 1 protein that provokes its immune system, which then treats the protein like a foreign pathogen, creating antibodies that bind to it and eventually neutralise it. The antibodies end up in the egg yolk as a way of passing protection onto the hen's chicks. When these yolks are used in the cat kibble and the cat consumes them, a kind of interspecies immunity transfer takes place. In short, by co-opting a chicken's immune system, the antibodies pass on to the cat, which then protects the allergic human.

It turns out that the idea was not so crazy. The egg yolk cat food ingredient nearly halves the amount of allergen shed by the cat. The goal was to reduce the protein to a threshold where it minimised the symptoms of cat allergies, which are typically coughing and itchy eyes. While it does not protect those who are hypersensitive, it will work for most people with feline allergy issues. One of the limitations, of course, is that it only works so long as the cat is eating the manipulated food. But what are the consequences of reducing a feline protein for human convenience? We used to declaw cats to save our furniture, which is now frowned upon by veterinarians. We often de-sex cats, which is highly encouraged. Could you make the argument that the less Fel d 1 a cat have, the lesser the owner and any home visitors will suffer, and so the more the owner, cat, and others will get along harmoniously?

Judging the potential harms of manipulating Fel d 1 in cats requires further investigation. Currently, scientists are uncertain about what the protein does. Some suggest that it acts as a pheromone for social signalling, meaning that it may be less important for the domesticated house-bound pets. Whatever the case may be, the variability in the amount of protein from cat to cat and month to month suggests that reducing it won't have dire consequences for our feline friends. So far, at least, cats being fed the Fel d 1 reducing kibble have not shown any adverse effects * kibble - pet food pellets pheromone equals a chemical substance produced and released into the environment by an animal, affecting the behaviour of others of its species

Questions 32 - 36

Do the following statements reflect the claims of the writer in the reading passage?

Choose YES if the statement reflects the claims of the writer.

Choose NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer.

Choose NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this.

32. Manipulating cat genes as a means of dealing with Fel d 1 has shown some limited success.

Answer: YES

Supporting statement: “......To date, the kibble cat food has become widely available in pet stores, the vaccine has been tested on over 100 cats, and although the gene therapy is a long way off, it has been proven in a petri dish........”

Keywords: kibble, tested

Keyword Location: para 2, Lines 6-7

Explanation: The statement is supported by the passage, which mentions that gene therapy aimed at Fel d 1 has been successful in a laboratory setting. This suggests some limited success, even if it's still in the experimental stage.

33. Yogesh Chandrasekhar set out to eliminate the Fel d 1 protein NE secreted in cat saliva. A

Answer: NO

Supporting statement: “.......Chandrasekhar and his team came up with the idea to use egg yolks by injecting a hen with the Fel d 1 protein.......”

Keywords: team, hen

Keyword Location: para 3, Line 6

Explanation: Chandrasekhar's goal was not to eliminate the Fel d 1 protein but to neutralize it by using egg yolks. The passage clearly describes his approach as counteracting the protein rather than eliminating it.

34. Veterinarians disapprove of cat owners cutting their cats' claws.

Answer: YES

Supporting statement: “.......We used to declaw cats to save our furniture, which is now frowned upon by veterinarians.......”

Keywords: declaw, veterinarians

Keyword Location: para 4, Line 6

Explanation: The passage explicitly states that declawing cats is frowned upon by veterinarians, indicating their disapproval of the practice.

35. Reducing cat Fel d 1 will improve cat-human / human-cat relationships.

Answer: NOT GIVEN

Explanation: The passage discusses the potential benefits of reducing Fel d 1 but does not directly claim that this will improve relationships between cats and humans. Therefore, it's impossible to say what the writer thinks about this.

36. The effects of reducing Fel d 1 on cat pheromones will harm wild cats.

Answer: NOT GIVEN

Explanation: The passage mentions that the role of Fel d 1 in pheromones is uncertain, but it does not discuss the impact on wild cats. There is no clear statement about whether this would harm wild cats, so the writer's view is not provided.

Question 37 - 40

Complete each sentence with the correct ending A- H from the box below.

Write the correct letter A-H.

37. The amount of the Fel d 1 protein...

Answer: B

Supporting statement: “.......Some cats shed more of this protein than other cats—sometimes up to 80 times more.......”

Keywords: protein, times

Keyword Location: para 2, Line 2

Explanation: The passage notes that different cats shed varying amounts of Fel d 1, with some shedding much more than others, indicating variability.

38. Breeding cats in a certain way ...

Answer: G

Supporting statement: “........Because age-old breeding techniques have failed to eliminate the protein......”

Keywords: old, protein

Keyword Location: para 2, Line 5

Explanation: The passage directly states that traditional breeding techniques have been unsuccessful in eliminating the Fel d 1 protein. Hence G is the correct answer.

39. The owner of a cat...

Answer: H

Supporting statement: “.......this behaviour spreads the allergen all over their fur, which in turn gets all over the owner’s couch, clothes, bed, and so on.......”

Keywords: behaviour, couch

Keyword Location: para 3, Line 3

Explanation: The passage explains how cats spread Fel d 1 allergens through grooming, which then gets transferred to various surfaces and items in the home. This process leads to the owner being exposed to these allergens.

40. Injecting Fel d 1 into hens...

Answer: A

Supporting statement: “.......by injecting a hen with the Fel d 1 protein that provokes its immune system.......”

Keywords: hen, immune

Keyword Location: para 3, Line 6

Explanation: The passage describes how injecting Fel d 1 into hens triggers their immune response, leading to the production of antibodies against the protein. This immune response is then harnessed in the cat food to reduce the allergenic impact on humans.

SENTENCE ENDINGS

A. triggers their immune response.

B. varies enormously from cat to cat.

C. spreads the allergen to other people

D. completely eliminated people's cat Allergies.

E. is absent in hairless cats.

F. makes them immune to cat allergies

G. was unsuccessful in eradicating Fel d 1.

H. is exposed to Fell objects.

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