molecular biology

American  

noun

1. the branch of biology that deals with the nature of biological phenomena at the molecular level through the study of DNA and RNA, proteins, and other macromolecules involved in genetic information and cell function, characteristically making use of advanced tools and techniques of separation, manipulation, imaging, and analysis.

---

molecular biology British  

noun

1. the study of biological phenomena at the molecular level

---

molecular biology Scientific  

/ mə-lĕk′yə-lər /

1. The branch of biology that deals with the formation, structure, and function of macromolecules essential to life, such as nucleic acids and proteins, including their roles in cell replication and the transmission of genetic information.

---

molecular biology Cultural  

1. The branch of science devoted to studies of the structure, function, and reactions of DNA, RNA, proteins, and other molecules involved in the life processes.

---

Etymology

Origin of molecular biology

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

molecular biology

Lev Sercarz developed it with Kanchan Koya, a spice specialist and culinary influencer with a Ph.D. in molecular biology from Harvard.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026

Studying molecular biology at one of the world's most prestigious universities, she was following in a family tradition.

From BBC ● Mar. 26, 2026

"We were able to see, almost atom by atom, how statins latch onto this channel," said lead author Dr. Steven Molinarolo, a postdoctoral researcher in UBC's department of biochemistry and molecular biology.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 31, 2026

That question led Aristeidis Telonis, Ph.D., a research assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the Miller School, to investigate whether environmental and social conditions leave detectable biological signals in tumors.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 30, 2025

Perhaps as a result, the most persuasive scientific critiques on Clovis initially came from fields that overlapped archaeology, but were mainly outside of it: linguistics, molecular biology, and geology.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann