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

That groundbreaking discovery, published in the journal Nature, was a huge advancement in science that gave way to the field of molecular biology. —Christina Zdanowicz, CNN Money, 7 Nov. 2025

Killa Bee will tell the story of Bryony Tyrell, a mother of two with a master’s degree in nursing and a degree in molecular biology who worked at the ICU by day, navigating the challenges of the NHS, and at night transformed into one of Britain’s leading cage fighting prospects. —Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 3 Nov. 2025

Using comparative molecular biology with human cGAS – which actually inhibits DNA repair – the scientists found that the naked mole-rat's enzyme has four key changes that facilitate the important work that extends their lifespan and keeps them healthy and disease-free for a remarkably long time. —New Atlas, 12 Oct. 2025

Steven Haddock studies marine diversity, molecular biology, and bioluminescence at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute and the University of California, Santa Cruz. —Literary Hub, 25 Sep. 2025

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