Matthew Meselson (Harvard): The Semi-Conservative Replication of DNA

Matthew Meselson shares the story of how he and Frank Stahl proved that DNA replicates in a semi-conservative manner.

ibiology.org/genetics-and-gene-regulation/semi-conservative-… In 1953, Watson and Crick proposed a double-helical structure for DNA and suggested that it replicated in a semi-conservative manner. This method of replication was not universally accepted as correct, however. In this talk, Meselson recalls the events that led him to meet Frank Stahl and to plan and execute the now famous experiment proving that DNA does indeed undergo semi-conservative replication. Speaker biography: Dr. Meselson has made important contributions to the areas of DNA replication, repair and recombination as well as isolating the first restriction enzyme. Currently, he is Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Harvard University, where his lab studies aging in the model organism bdelloid rotifers. Meselson is also a long-time advocate for the abolition of biological and chemical weapons. He has received many honors, including a Lasker Award in 2004.