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Introduction

Watson and Crick concluded their 1953 paper on the structure of DNA with the following statement:

It has not escaped our notice that the specific pairing we have postulated immediately suggests a possible copying mechanism for the genetic material.

The "specific pairing" they mentioned is the hydrogen-bonds between adenine and thymine, and guanine and cytosine. The "copying mechanism" is DNA replication, a simple yet accurate series of steps by which DNA carries the instructions for its own reproduction.

This tutorial will cover the process of DNA replication. Remember, every time a cell divides - it must replicate its DNA.

The Learning Objectives are that by the end of this tutorial, you should be able to:

Compare and contrast the structures of DNA and RNA
Diagram the process of DNA replication, including all of the enzymes and molecules that are necessary
Describe the antiparallel structure of a DNA molecule and the implications this has for DNA replication
Explain the different DNA repair mechanisms and the different possible types of mutations
Explain how PCR is used to amplify a gene

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