In the Hershey-Chase experiment, blending and centrifugation were crucial steps:\begin{itemize} \item Blending: This process detached the phage protein coats from the bacterial surface, ensuring that only internalized components remained associated with the bacteria. \item Centrifugation: This technique separated the bacterial cells, which settled as a pellet, from the phage protein coats in the supernatant, enabling precise radioactivity measurements.\end{itemize}Together, these methods demonstrated that $^{32}$P (associated with DNA) entered the bacterial cells, while $^{35}$S (associated with protein) stayed external. This provided conclusive evidence that DNA is the genetic material.% Quick tip