Jackie Smith is 16 years old, She is a champion long-distance runner. She is training for the Olympics.
Jackie's 20-year-old brother, Lincoln, is also a runner, He is a sprinter: He earned a college scholarship for sprinting and hopes to win a college race.
Jackie and Lincoln's mother was a sprinter in high school and college. She competed in many races.
Jackie and Lincoln's father has never been a serious runner.
It is unusual to find a family that has three competitive runners. It's especially puzzling that Jackie is a long-distance runner, unlike her brother and mother, who are sprinters.
The lab contacted Jackie's family, but only her father and brother agreed to participate in the Human Muscle lab's study. Jackie and her mother decided not to participate in this research study, so information about them is not available.
Currently, researchers are working to understand why Jackie is a champion distance runner when no one else in her family has this trait. Which of those claims is the correct? Claim 1:
Jackie's trait is due to her training.
Claim 2:
Jackie has a different combination of gene versions. Jackie's trait can be explained by the combination of gene versions she inherited from her parents.
Claim 3:
Jackie has a mutation in her gene for the
ACTN3 protein. This mutation instructs for a protein that results in the long-distance running trait instead of the sprinting trait.
