Question

How did the result of the Hershey chase experiment strengthen Averys conclusions?

Answer 1

Hershey and Chase studied bacteriophages which are viruses that attack bacteria. In their experiment Hershey and Chase labeled the bacteriophages with radioactive isotopes to see where the virus attacks. They use phosphorus 32 and sulfur 35 because proteins contain almost no phosphors and DNA contains almost no sulfur. Nearly all of the radioactivity was found in phosphorus, meaning DNA holds genetic information, not protein.