In 1952, 黑料吃瓜资源 (CSHL) was the site for one of the most famous experiments in the history of biology. At the Animal House鈥攍ater renamed in honor of Nobel laureate Barbara McClintock鈥�Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase were working with viruses called bacteriophages. The pair sought to confirm whether genes were made of DNA or protein. Their tool of choice? A Waring庐-brand kitchen blender.
Although research in 1944 had shown DNA was the molecule of heredity, the question remained far from settled. Nearly a decade later, the Hershey-Chase, or 鈥淲aring Blender,鈥� experiment removed all doubt. . The work would help earn Hershey a share of the 1969 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Max Delbr眉ck and Salvador Luria.
In 1979, CSHL honored Hershey by dedicating a new building to the then-retired scientist. Today, the Alfred D. Hershey building is home to several arms of CSHL. These include the , Flow Cytometry and Microscopy Shared Resources, and Office of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion.
At the building鈥檚 2012 rededication, CSHL President and CEO Bruce Stillman spoke to . 鈥淭he propagation of the latest techniques, technologies, and lab methods is central to the success of biology for scientists everywhere, at every stage of career development.鈥�
And yet another critical piece of that legacy is this simple piece of kitchenware.
Nobel laureate Alfred Hershey discusses the Hershey-Chase experiment in a 1991 recording. Hershey served as the director of the Carnegie Institution of Washington Department of Genetics, a predecessor of modern-day CSHL, from 1962 until his retirement in the early 鈥�70s.
Written by: Nick Wurm, Communications Specialist | [email protected] | 516-367-5940