First the DNA Wrapping is animated.
The wrapping allows 6 feet of the long DNA molecule to be densely packed into the tiny nucleus of every cell. The process starts when DNA is wrapped around special protein molecules called histones. The combined loop of DNA and protein is called a nuclei zone. Next the nuclei zones are packed into a thread. The end result is fiber known as chromatin. This fiber is looped and coiled yet again leading to the familiar shapes known as chromosomes which can be seen in the nucleus of dividing cells. Chromosomes are not always present - they form around the time cells divide when the two copies of the cell\'s DNA need to be separated.
Using computer animation based on molecular research we are now able to see how DNA is actually copied in living cells.
An assembly line of amazing biochemical machines are pulling apart the DNA double helix and cranking out a copy of each strand.
This presentation was made by Drew Barry at The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research.