I had never really thought about the exact process of how DNA is actually replicated, I remember learning about it briefly in high school, but I was never really interested. However, now that I actually understand all the processes leading up to DNA replication and genetics, it makes it much more interesting. Way back in 1953 Watson and Crick wrote two papers about how they thought DNA replication might work. They predicted that first hydrogen bonds connecting the two strands of the DNA molecule are broken. When this occurs, the two strands separate and then each strand is used as a blueprint for the construction of a new DNA strand. Once this process is completed, there are two identical copies of the original DNA. Watson and Crick also predicted that each of these new copies of DNA contained one “old” strand and one new strand. I think of it like a piece of rope. You can pull the strands of a rope apart and when you do so you get two strands of a rope. Each strand of that rope then creates a new copy so that there are two strands again. Each rope now contains one strand from the original rope and one strand that was created. Hope that gives you a better picture visually of what is actually going on in DNA replication, however that example makes it sounds like it is a simple process, however DNA replication is complex. The main enzyme in DNA replication is called DNA polymerase and more than a dozen of these enzymes and other proteins are needed in order to unwind, stabilize, and separate the strands. And on top of all that, enzymes are especially important is getting the replication process started and afterward “proofing” the completed DNA strand and finally joining the new and old strands together. It amazes me how our body can create so many new strands of DNA with so few mistakes in a matter of hours. The process is actually very