molecular biology

noun

: a branch of biology dealing with the ultimate physicochemical organization of living matter and especially with the molecular basis of inheritance and protein synthesis

molecular biologist noun

Examples of molecular biology in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This mechanism of transcription and translation is now known as the central dogma of molecular biology. —William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024

Tran earned her bachelor's of science in molecular biology from Wisconsin and was a member of the Alpha Phi sorority, according to her LinkedIn profile. —Hannah Kirby, Journal Sentinel, 27 Mar. 2024

One is that the tools of molecular biology are becoming more and more powerful every year. —Matt Reynolds, WIRED, 18 Mar. 2024

That job led to a one-year lab position in 1960 at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, then a center of the exciting new field of molecular biology. —Trip Gabriel, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2024

Gu's mother, Yan, studied chemistry, biochemistry and molecular biology, among other subjects, before becoming a venture capitalist and, ultimately, her daughter's No. 1 fan and support system. —Eddie Pells, USA TODAY, 27 Jan. 2024

Malka has a medical degree from the University of New Mexico and a doctorate in molecular biology from Columbia, as well as herbal medicine training from the Santa Fe University of Natural Medicine. —Peter Hecht, Sacramento Bee, 21 Feb. 2024

For the first time, researchers have used behavioral measures, brain imaging and molecular biology to test how odorless chemicals from human tears affect people By Rachel Nuwer When someone starts to cry, other people oftentimes feel empathy and concern. —Rachel Nuwer, Scientific American, 21 Dec. 2023

Ribbon knots, like the optimal trefoil knot, are used to model DNA in molecular biology, while providing a gateway to more abstract questions investigated in the area of knot theory. —Kevin Hartnett, Quanta Magazine, 5 Jan. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1884, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

molecular biology

noun

: a branch of biology that investigates the structure and function of usually large molecules (as DNA and proteins) of living matter in order to understand their role in biological processes (as inheritance and cell function)

Medical Definition

molecular biology

noun

: a branch of biology dealing with the study and understanding of biological activity and processes at the molecular level and especially the molecular basis of gene function and protein synthesis

Molecular biology experiments proved that small pieces of DNA did sometimes move within or between chromosomes, thereby triggering changes in gene expression.

—John Rennie, Scientific American

The test is based on several recent advances in molecular biology, including the new insight that cells slip into the uncontrolled growth known as cancer through defects in specific enzymes that monitor and control division.

—Lawrence K. Altman, The New York Times