NEET Biology
NEETBiologyMolecular Basis of InheritanceClass 12

I keep getting “Semi-conservative replication” questions wrong in Molecular Basis of Inheritance. What's the trap?

thinking both strands of the daughter DNA are brand new.

The usual trap: thinking both strands of the daughter DNA are brand new. How to avoid it: 'semi' — half old, half new in each copy (Meselson–Stahl). Go back to the definition — each new DNA molecule keeps one original strand and one newly made strand.

Key point

Semi-conservative replication

Common mistake

thinking both strands of the daughter DNA are brand new.

Memory tip

'semi' — half old, half new in each copy (Meselson–Stahl).

Tap to watch or see it right here — the app stays open (it only opens a quick search if nothing embeddable is found).

More on Molecular Basis of Inheritance