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

The man referred to in the note is juror No. 25, a 51-year-old man from Manhattan who holds a degree in molecular biology and works as a veterinarian, according to Reuters. —Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 1 July 2025

Introduction May 7, 2025 biology brains cells memory molecular biology neurons neuroscience proteins All topics (opens a new tab) When Todd Sacktor (opens a new tab) was about to turn 3, his 4-year-old sister died of leukemia. —Ajdina Halilovic, Quanta Magazine, 7 May 2025

Industry saw the potential for drug development, and molecular biology was suddenly a lucrative field. —Eva Amsen, JSTOR Daily, 11 June 2025

The federal lab, about 40 miles southeast of downtown Oakland, conducts experiments on nuclear reactions, lasers, atomic structure and molecular biology. —Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY, 2 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1884, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for molecular biology

• anesthesiology
• epidemiology
• ethnomethodology
• ethnomusicology
• gastroenterology
• immunobiology
• immunopathology
• neuropharmacology
• neurophysiology
• neuroradiology
• otolaryngology
• paleobiology

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