Hershey+Proves+DNA+is+the+Molecule+of+Heredity

= Hershey and Chase =

In 1952 Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase used the discovery for DNA as their experiment prove that DNA is a genetic materiel and not a protein. They wanted to determine what the genetic material was of a bacteriophage.DNA has been known to scientists since 1869, most assumed at that time that proteins carried the information for inheritance.
 * Shawnee Moats- **

In Hershey and Chases first experiment labeled the phages with radioactive phosphorus. They allowed the phages to infect. After several experiments of failure they got closer to finding that DNA was a genetic material. They used Sulfur, they sheared the viral protein shells off the infected cells using a high-speed blender to separate them and the viral coats. After the separation they observed the separation in the protein shells with the radioactive tracer but not in the infecting bacteria. Which proves that the genetic material infected the bacteria was DNA and not the protein.

There final experiment to prove that DNA was a genetic material and not protein was by examining children's DNA. DNA was passed down to them from there parents and not the radioactive protein. What Hershey and Chase realized that discovering this was crucial for needing proof and sharing there experiments with everyone that DNA is a genetic materiel and not a protein. Their findings also served as motivation to Watson and Crick in their search to determine the structure of DNA.


 * Science is **: Based on having proof on all the experiments that you try. In this case the two people who discovered DNA were Watson and Crick. To prove that, Hershey and Chase went out and proved that DNA was a genetic material and in fact not a protein.They did several experiments and didn't give up even when they failed. When they finally had proof they shared it with the entire science community and went down in history.

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 * Refrences: **

//[|Independent]////[|functions of viral protein and nucleic acid in growth of bacteriophage]//. J Gen Physiol.