molecular biology

noun

Updated on: 12 Apr 2018

Definition of molecular biology

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

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molecular biologist

noun

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Recent Examples of molecular biology from the Web

Baserga, of New Haven, is a pioneer in molecular biology researching the formation of ribosomes and their relationship with certain diseases and cancers.

— rebecca lurye, courant.com, "Meet The 13 Women Honored By Connecticut's Tech Community," 30 Mar. 2018
Kazuharu Arakawa, a researcher who studies the molecular biology of tardigrades at Japan's Keio University, discovered the newfound species in a small sample of moss.

— stephanie pappas, Scientific American, "A New Type of Tardigrade Just Turned Up in a Parking Lot," 2 Mar. 2018
Arakawa studies the molecular biology of tardigrades and had scraped the moss from his own apartment's parking lot in Tokyo.

— david grossman, Popular Mechanics, "New Tardigrade Species Found in Parking Lot," 28 Feb. 2018
So after Jamal enrolled in 2008 at the University of Kansas to pursue a PhD in molecular biology, authorities revoked his student visa.

— rick montgomery, kansascity, "By the time ICE arrested Syed Jamal, he was low on options with immigration law | The Kansas City Star," 25 Feb. 2018
Kindra Crick studied molecular biology and painting and brings both disciplines to bear in her art work.

— amy wang | the oregonian/oregonlive, OregonLive.com, "8 arts picks: 'Star Trek' musical, string quartets, theater, more," 11 Jan. 2018
Activities at Ocean Discovery range from dissecting a worm to learning about molecular biology.

— david karas, The Christian Science Monitor, "She’s bringing the ocean – as well as science – closer to low-income youths," 22 Dec. 2017
Experimental and analytical sciences—genetics, biochemistry, crystallography, and eventually molecular biology—made natural history seem old fashioned.

— steven lubar, Smithsonian, "A Scholar Follows a Trail of Dead Mice and Discovers a Lesson in Why Museum Collections Matter," 10 Aug. 2017
This includes individual advising and mentoring; funded research positions in Boise State labs for selected students; and funding for new CWI classes in ethics, cell biology and genetics, as well as a new cell/molecular biology lab component.

— mark rudin, idahostatesman, "Idaho campuses do vital research in biomedical, biomechanical fields | Idaho Statesman," 28 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'molecular biology.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of molecular biology

1884

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

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Medical Dictionary

molecular biology

noun

medical Definition of molecular biology

: 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, March 1993

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, 11 Oct. 1994