CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The process by which genes are duplicated is mysterious and complex, involving a cast of characters with diverse talents and the ability to play well with others in extremely close quarters. A key player on this stage is an enzyme called a helicase. Its job is to unwind the tightly coiled chain of nucleic acids – the DNA or RNA molecule that spells out the organism’s genetic code – so that another enzyme, a polymerase, can faithfully copy each nucleotide in the code.
