The Physics of DNA                             
the basics  -  the physics  -  an intro to replication  -  the physics of replication  -  bibliography



AN INTRO TO REPLICATION


DNA is usually found in a double-stranded double helix, and has two strands that
are complementary, containing the same genetic information.

When DNA replication begins, it starts at a replication origin, which
is marked by a particular order of nucleotides. This sequence
attracts initiator proteins, which in turn attract a 'replication
machine'. This replication machine is composed of many
different replication enzymes that are necessary to perform
replication. The enzyme helicase is responsiblefor unzipping
the DNA. This creates a replication fork, where the two original,
or template, strands of DNA are separated. Within the
replication bubble, DNA polymerase controls replication
on both strands of template DNA, and attaches free
nucleotides to complementary bases, until there is an
entire copy of the original DNA. This creates two new
double-stranded double helices, each with one strand
of template DNA and one strand of newly synthesized
DNA.