3. a mental representation of something: she's got a good idea of the layout of the factory. 4. the characterization of something in general terms; concept: the idea of a square circle is self-contradictory. 5. an individual's conception of something: his idea of honesty is not the same as yours and mine. 6. the belief that something is the case: he has the idea that what he's doing is right. 7. a scheme, intention, plan, etc: here's my idea for the sales campaign. 8. a vague notion or indication; inkling: he had no idea of what life would be like in Africa.
Since DNA replication moves along the parent strand in the 5' to 3' direction, replication can occur very easily on the leading strand. As seen in, the nucleotides are added in the 5' to 3' direction. Triggered by RNA primase, which adds the first nucleotide to the nascent chain, the DNA polymerase simply sits near the replication fork, moving as the fork does, adding nucleotides one after the other, preserving the proper anti-parallel orientation.
Much of what we know about DNA replication has come from study of bacteria, particularly E. coli, and the details of this process are discussed elsewhere in this encyclopedia. Unlike eukaryotic replication, prokaryotic replication begins at a single point, and proceeds around the circle in both directions.