History
Timeline of DNA
Contributers to Discovery


Structure
Components of DNA
Patterns of Base Pairing
DNA in Chromosomes
RNA Molecule
Protein Molecule


Functions
Transcription
Translation
Recombination
Replication


Visitors

Replication >>


Replication of DNA is considered to be unique because of it’s ability to duplicate itself. The replication of DNA occurs before cell division. The following is a compendium of how DNA replicates.

  1. Helicase initiates the unzipping of the DNA, which breaks the weak hydrogen bonds that pair the bases together.
  2. The helicase, starting at a certain region of the DNA, unzips the DNA in opposite directions. The point in which the DNA strands is termed as the replication fork.
  3. As the helicase continues to unzip the DNA molecule into two strands, new DNA strands, with the same bases and nucleotides, readily join and pair up with the unzipped DNA strand.
Result: Two DNA Molecules, each with one new strand of DNA and an old strand of DNA, which is called semi-conservative.

The new strand of DNA just can’t appear, so where does it come from?
  1. Primase uses three RNA nucleotides in placement of the DNA nucleotides, to being the new strand.
  2. DNA polymerase, which requires three nucleotides to begin it’s function, adds to the RNA nucleotides creating short segments of DNA, which is called Okzaki fragments.
  3. The Okzaki fragments are joined together by an enzyme, called ligase, and then the newly replicated DNA strand is base paired with the opposite old DNA strand.




*Each strand of DNA goes along with it's bases*












DNA's Uses
Cloning
Paternity Testing
Agriculture
Gene Therapy


Further Materials
Recommended Books
Related Websites
DNA Modules/Experiments
Site Glossary


This is website is mostly focused on the topic of DNA, the Human Code. Learning about the human code, and how people may inherit different characterisitcs genetically is interesting to investigate. The diverse sections; DNA History, DNA Structure, DNA Functions, and DNA' Uses; provide a broad overview of each category, and also include a vast majority of short, in-depth inserts to portray a better understanding and comprehension of this complex subject, DNA, and to answer questions that would puzzle you about DNA.

As a bonus, this site includes a glossary. The glossary contains all words that were printed in bold that would seem hard to understand or not in an average person's vocabulary in the various sections within this site, so that you never become lost or puzzled while observing the information given on this site.

If you would like to download an easy-to-read report of DNA, that is pretty much similar to the information given on this website, click the link on the bottom of the main page to download.


Best viewed in a maximized window and with a monitor resolution of 1024 x 768. All written materials and information
were fully composed, as well as altered images and diagrams, by Josh Eisma (2002), unless otherwise specified.