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The Hershey-Chase experiments were a series of experiments conducted in 1952 by Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase, confirming that DNA was the genetic material, which had first been demonstrated in the 1944 Avery-MacLeod-McCarty experiment. While DNA had been known to biologists since 1869, most assumed at the time that proteins carried the information for inheritance.

Hershey and Chase conducted their experiments on the T2 phage, a virus whose structure had recently been shown by electron microscopy.The phage consists only of a protein shell containing its genetic material. The phage infects a bacterium by attaching to its outer membrane and injecting its genetic material, causing the bacterium's genetic machinery to produce more viruses, leaving its empty shell attached to the bacterium.Structural overview of T2 phage

In a first experiment, they labeled the DNA of phages with radioactive Phosphorus-32 (the element phosphorus is present in DNA but not present in any of the 20 amino acids from which proteins are made). They allowed the phages to infect E. coli, then removed the protein shells from the infected cells with a blender and separated the cells and viral coats by using a centrifuge. They found that the radioactive tracer was visible only in the pellet of bacterial cells and not in the supernatant containing the protein shells.

In a second experiment, they labeled the phages with radioactive Sulfur-35 (Sulfur is present in the amino acids cysteine and methionine, but not in DNA). After separation, the radioactive tracer then was found in the protein shells, but not in the infected bacteria, supporting the hypothesis that the genetic material which infects the bacteria is DNA.

Hershey shared the 1969 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his "discoveries concerning the genetic structure of viruses."

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What result did hershey and chases experiment have in the scientific community?

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What was used by Hershey and chase in their experiment?

Bacteriophage


What did the experiment of Hershey and chase show?

DNA controls heredity, not proteins.


What happened in Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase's blunder experiment?

bacteriophages


What are the results from an experiment called?

The results of an experiment are called your data.


Which shows that the results of an experiment are reliable?

An experiment in which the results are repeatable....apex


How did he record and results of his experiment?

He recorded the results of his experiment by documenting observations, measurements, and data collected during the experiment. These results were typically recorded in a lab notebook or electronic record. The results were then analyzed and interpreted to draw conclusions and determine the significance of the experiment.


When you sum up what is learned in an experiment what is it called?

The outcome of an experiment is a "conclusion", the interpretation of the results compared with the expected results and the goal of the experiment.


Hersheys and chases experiment led to the conclusion that?

Hershey and Chase's experiment using bacteriophages showed that DNA, not protein, is the genetic material responsible for carrying hereditary information. This discovery provided strong evidence for the role of DNA as the molecule of inheritance.


What are the results called in an scientific experiment?

The results of a scientific experiment are typically referred to as data or findings. These results provide the information needed to analyze the experiment's outcome and draw conclusions.


Do your results have to match your hypothesis in an experiment?

The results of a science experiment do not have to match the original hypothesis. Indeed, the results collected in an experiment may be completely different to those that the scientist predicted.


What part of the virus did the hershey-chase experiment show had entered the bacteria?

Their genetic material