Molecular Biology

The study of the chemical structures and processes of biological phenomena involving the basic units of life, molecules, is the focus of molecular biology. The study of nucleic acids (e.g., DNA and RNA) and proteins—macromolecules that are required for life processes—and how these molecules interact and function within cells is the focus of molecular biology. Molecular biology arose in the 1930s, emerging from the allied sciences of biochemistry, genetics, and biophysics; it is still strongly tied with those fields today.

PCR stands for polymerase chain reaction.
PCR stands for polymerase chain reaction.

Various approaches for molecular biology have been established, however researchers in the discipline may also use methods and techniques from genetics and other closely related fields. Molecular biology, in particular, tries to comprehend the three-dimensional structure of X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy are two techniques used to study biological macromolecules. Molecular biologists study the molecular basis of genetic processes; they map the location of genes on specific chromosomes, associate these genes with specific characteristics of an organism, and use genetic engineering (recombinant DNA technology) to isolate, sequence, and modify specific genes.