The origin of replication (also called the replication origin) is a particular sequence in a genome at which replication is initiated.
The method of replication is semi-conservative; this means that in the two daughter helices one strand of each is comprised of parental DNA (from the original helix), and the other is comprised of newly synthesised DNA. Synthesis occurs at the replication fork, our focus in this article. Replication is a complex process, involving many, many different enzymes-such as DNA polymerase-which have frustratingly similar names to enzymes in other processes.  The origin of replication (also called the replication origin) is a particular sequence in a genome at which replication is initiated. This can either involve the replication of DNA in living organisms such as prokaryotes and eukaryotes, or that of DNA or RNA in viruses, such as double-stranded RNA viruses.  The leading strand is the strand of nascent DNA which is being synthesized in the same direction as the growing replication fork. A polymerase reads the leading strand template and adds complementary nucleotides to the nascent leading strand on a continuous basis. The replication fork is a structure that forms within the nucleus during DNA replication. It is created by helicases, which break the hydrogen bonds holding the two DNA strands together. The resulting structure has two branching prongs, each one made up of a single strand of DNA. Making the world better, one answer at a time. A replication fork is the mechanism by which a strand of DNA is synthesized. If you can imagine a strand of DNA unwound, then it would resemble a ladder. Unzip the DNA and it now looks like a fork, ie fork in road, not eating fork. There is a Leading strand, which is synthesised easily. USing DNA polymerase which 'reads' along the strand in the 3' to 5' direction on the strand, producing a replication strand in the 5' to 3' direction.  1 One of the strands is oriented in the 3’ to 5’ direction (towards the replication fork), this is the leading strand. 2  The other strand is oriented in the 5’ to 3’ direction (away from the replication fork), this is the lagging strand. DNA replication is the process by which DNA makes a copy of itself during cell division. 1  The first step in DNA replication is to ‘unzip’ the double helix structure of the DNA molecule. DNA replication of one helix of DNA results in two identical helices. If the original DNA helix is called the parental DNA, the two resulting helices can be called daughter helices. Each of these two daughter helices is a nearly exact copy of the parental helix (it is not 100% the same due to mutations). The first step in DNA replication is the separation of the two DNA strands that make up the helix that is to be copied. DNA Helicase untwists the helix at locations called replication origins. 1 The separation of the two single strands of DNA creates a ‘Y’ shape called a replication ‘fork’. 2  The two separated strands will act as templates for making the new strands of DNA. 3  One of the strands is oriented in the 3’ to 5’ direction (towards the replication fork), this is the leading strand. DNA replication is the process by which DNA makes a copy of itself during cell division. 1  The first step in DNA replication is to ‘unzip’ the double helix structure of the DNA molecule. DNA replication is the process of producing two identical replicas from one original DNA molecule. This biological process occurs in all living organisms and is the basis for biological inheritance. The replication fork is a structure that forms within the nucleus during DNA replication. It is created by helicases, which break the hydrogen bonds holding the two DNA strands together. The resulting structure has two branching prongs, each one made up of a single strand of DNA. Replication Fork. During DNA replication a DNA double helix must unwind and separate so that DNA polymerase enzymes can use each single strand as a template for the synthesis of a new double strand. Strand separation is catalyzed by a Helicase enzyme. This is called the leading strand. Replication on the other strand occurs by the creation of many short segments. This is the lagging strand. On both the leading and lagging strands, DNA replication starts with primase adding a short (3 to 10 base) RNA primer to the template strand. Replication Forks and Origins of Replication. The first step in DNA replication is the separation of the two DNA strands that make up the helix that is to be copied. DNA Helicase untwists the helix at locations called replication origins. The replication origin forms a Y shape, and is called a replication fork
http://www.fastbleep.com/biology-notes/31/171/974 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_of_replication https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Replication_fork http://www.answers.com/Q/What_is_a_replication_fork http://www.yourgenome.org/facts/what-is-dna-replication http://www.sparknotes.com/biology/molecular/dnareplicationandrepair/section1.rhtml http://www.yourgenome.org/facts/what-is-dna-replication https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Replication_fork http://scienceprimer.com/replication-fork http://www.sparknotes.com/biology/molecular/dnareplicationandrepair/section1.rhtml
What is the replication fork? Why is it called a “fork”?