Who is Alfred Hershey and what is he famous for?

Who is he what is so famous about him?

Rhea2009-12-15T11:32:45Z

Favorite Answer

He's a geneticist. Won the Nobel Prize for proving that DNA is important. People used to think that it was proteins, not DNA that encoded traits. He helped prove them wrong.

The Hershey-Chase experiment.
He made phages where only the DNA was radioactive, and phages where only the protein was radioactive.
When the DNA was radioactive, infected bacteria became radioactive, showing that the DNA was transferred.
When the protein was radioactive, infected bacteria stayed normal, showing that the protein was not transferred.
Therefore DNA must be the hereditary material.

B. Y.2009-12-15T11:21:03Z

He had a lot to do with proving that DNA is genetic material.