"Uncle Clover" <UncleClover@SpamMeNot.com> wrote in message
news:soebi2p91p7o9j3hfluf3eu61hn7edjrto@4ax.com...

For my own general edification and the benefit of others who may have
similar interests, I have a few questions about how DNA works. Let me
explain
my understanding of the proccess to see if I got it right:

- DNA action is like one quasi-complete reaction complemented by an
accompanying
reaction - namely, the molecules which cause the helix to split so that
they can
join up with new copies of each base's complementary partner, forming two
different chains.

- For this next bit, I have to describe something to you. It was a nifty
little
gadget my mom used to have and which you still can buy in puzzle shops and
the
like. It consisted of about 4 or 5 flat pieces of wood bound together
accordian-like in such a way that whenever you unfold it and hold it up by
one
end, one of the blocks flips down from the top, then the one opposite it
flips
down on the other side, the flipping motion going back and forth until it
reaches the other end of the stack and giving the illusion of a single
block
"magically" cascading down from the top. I don't know what those toys are
called, but I think you should be able to tell what I mean based on this
description.

The question is this: Essentially, aren't the "unzipper" molecules on a
strand
of DNA more like that flipping wooden block than a separate, independantly
existing molecule? Or are they actually not attached to the helix in any
way?
--

This is an animated version of the process, it's pretty good.

http://www.johnkyrk.com/DNAreplication.html

The "unzipper" proteins are not part of the helix; they bind to and release
from the DNA strand. When they are breaking the hydrogen bonds, they do
temporarily "attach" (bind). I don't think that's like the flipping block
thing if I have your meaning right.

"Uncle Clover" <UncleClover@SpamMeNot.com> wrote in message
news:soebi2p91p7o9j3hfluf3eu61hn7edjrto@4ax.com...

For my own general edification and the benefit of others who may have
similar interests, I have a few questions about how DNA works. Let me
explain
my understanding of the proccess to see if I got it right:

- DNA action is like one quasi-complete reaction complemented by an
accompanying
reaction - namely, the molecules which cause the helix to split so that
they can
join up with new copies of each base's complementary partner, forming two
different chains.

- For this next bit, I have to describe something to you. It was a nifty
little
gadget my mom used to have and which you still can buy in puzzle shops and
the
like. It consisted of about 4 or 5 flat pieces of wood bound together
accordian-like in such a way that whenever you unfold it and hold it up by
one
end, one of the blocks flips down from the top, then the one opposite it
flips
down on the other side, the flipping motion going back and forth until it
reaches the other end of the stack and giving the illusion of a single
block
"magically" cascading down from the top. I don't know what those toys are
called, but I think you should be able to tell what I mean based on this
description.

The question is this: Essentially, aren't the "unzipper" molecules on a
strand
of DNA more like that flipping wooden block than a separate, independantly
existing molecule? Or are they actually not attached to the helix in any
way?
--

This is an animated version of the process, it's pretty good.

http://www.johnkyrk.com/DNAreplication.html

The "unzipper" proteins are not part of the helix; they bind to and release
from the DNA strand. When they are breaking the hydrogen bonds, they do
temporarily "attach" (bind). I don't think that's like the flipping block
thing if I have your meaning right.