Select the correct statement about the evolution of animals.

a. no animal fossils are found in strata formed before the cambrian explosion.
b. the oldest generally accepted fossils of large animals range in age from 565 to 550 million years old.
c. approximately half the phyla of living organisms are found in cambrian sediments.

The correct answer is b. The oldest generally accepted fossils of large animals range in age from 565 to 550 million years old.

Explanation:

The oldest one of them all is the hematite tubes, that are dated about 3.77 billion to 4.2 billion years and it's from a yet unknown bacteria.

you didn't give any options but heres what i can tell you: an inference is likely to change based on additional observations. the latter is something that you have seen or sensed using your sensory organs while the former is like a conclusion out from what you have observed.

the last one: artificial selection/genetic engineering

plant breeding is modifying the genetic composition of the plant - but this isn't cloning (which is specifically introducing a gene into a genome). but you are artificially selecting for the phenotype that you want.

the second one is literally genetic engineering - the gene would have been cloned first and then inserted or genetically engineered into the new plant cell (the cotton).