Explanation

Creating a filter: the original sentence fails to be a grammatical sentence, thanks to the word "and." The phrase after the comma is not part of a list, not a modifier, not the predicate to any sentence, and not an independent clause. Choice (A) is out. We'll look for a choice that solves the basic subject-verb issue.

Applying the filter: choice (B) solves the problem in (A), though it switches the tense of "indicates" to "has indicated." The indicating is a generality, so it should be expressed in the present tense, and choice (B) is eliminated. Choice (C) leaves ambiguous what the "failure to ask" is "with." It seems to say, for example, that people are thinking about hypotheses and the failure together and confirming them both. So (C) is out. Choice (D) has past tenses that are out of place, again, in expressing this finding, which is a generality. We're left with choice (E), which is defect-free. The correct answer is (E).