1) Bacterial transformation experiments and studies of bacteriophages provided evidence that DNA carries genetic information. Avery discovered DNA was the transforming factor in bacteria. Hershey and Chase found that the genetic material of bacteriophages was DNA.
2) The structure of DNA was elucidated. Chargaff found rules of base pairing in DNA. Franklin's X-ray diffraction revealed DNA's double helix structure. Watson and Crick built a DNA model explaining its structure and base pairing.
3) DNA replication copies genetic information by unwinding the double helix and synthesizing new complementary strands according to base pairing rules, ensuring each daughter cell inherits the full genome. It occurs at replication forks in prok