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.

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molecular biology British  

noun

1. the study of biological phenomena at the molecular level

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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.

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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.

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Etymology

Origin of molecular biology

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

In one of the greatest breakthroughs of the 20th century, he identified the double-helix structure of DNA in 1953 alongside a British scientist, Francis Crick, setting the stage for rapid advances in molecular biology.

From BBC • Nov. 7, 2025

Watson, meanwhile, had graduated and moved on to Indiana University, where he joined a cluster of scientists known as the “phage group,” whose research with viruses infecting bacteria helped launch the field of molecular biology.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 7, 2025

To uncover how this process works, the researchers used a suite of cutting-edge molecular biology tools:

From Science Daily • Oct. 22, 2025

“It’s a recategorization,” said Santhosh Girirajan, a biochemistry and molecular biology professor at Pennsylvania State University and senior author of the paper.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 14, 2025

To anyone who has seen a molecular biology lab on the television news, the racks of refrigerating tanks, whirling DNA extractors, and gene-sequencing machines in Pena's lab would look familiar.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann