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Knowing the structure of DNA, scientists speculated and then proved that DNA is the template for copying the genetic code. See how information in DNA is copied to make new DNA molecules. Originally created for DNA Interactive ( ). TRANSCRIPT: During DNA replication, both strands of the double helix act as templates for the formation of new DNA molecules. Copying occurs at a localized region called the replication fork, which is a Y shaped structure where new DNA strands are synthesised by a multi-enzyme complex. Here the DNA to be copied enters the complex from the left. One new strand is leaving at the top of frame and the other new strand is leaving at bottom. The first step in DNA replication is the separation of the two strands by an enzyme called helicase. This spins the incoming DNA to unravel it: at ten thousand RPM in the case of bacterial systems. The separated strands are called three prime and five prime, distinguished by the direction in which their component nucleotides join
