Final answer:
DNA replication is a semi-conservative process. One strand of each parental DNA molecule is conserved and serves as a template for the synthesis of a new complementary strand. This was demonstrated by the experiments conducted by Matthew Meselson and Franklin Stahl in 1958.
Step-by-step explanation:
DNA replication is a semi-conservative process, which means that during replication, one strand of each parental DNA molecule is conserved and serves as a template for the synthesis of a new complementary strand.
This was first demonstrated by the experiments conducted by Matthew Meselson and Franklin Stahl in 1958. They used heavy and light isotopes of nitrogen to label and track DNA replication and found that after one generation, the DNA formed an intermediate band between the heavy and light DNA, indicating semi-conservative replication.