An enzyme in the very act of replicating DNA. The unzipped strand comes in from the upper right, on the left an incoming nucleotide is ready to be added to it, and at bottom the new double strand emerges. The DNA helices and nucleotide are drawn as wireframe models, and the polymerase itself as ribbons, with a translucent molecular surface outlining its form.

This particular polymerase specializes in damaged DNA: it doesn't give the best fidelity for a perfect strand, but it can work through some types of damage that would stop a normal polymerase. It comes from an archaean organism that lives in volcanic hot springs, an extreme environment where it's easy for big molecules to get disorganized.

Data for this sculpture comes from the Protein Data Bank, ID 1JX4, submitted by Drs. Ling, Boudsocq, Woodgate, and Yang.