Is a new molecule of dna put together using two newly made strands?

Question

Is a new molecule of dna put together using two newly made strands?

Answer 1

Nope. In fact this exact question was one that perplexed scientists studying DNA years ago. A new DNA molecule contains one new strand and one old strand. These are commonly referred to as the parental strand and the daughter strand, respectively. This mode of replication is what is called semi-conservative because half of the DNA is conserved from one strand to a replicated strand.

Originally, this question was answered using heavy and light isotopes of Nitrogen and is commonly referred to as the Messelson and Stahl experiment.

Check it out on Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meselson-St...