molecular biology

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noun

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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Also called new biology.

Origin of molecular biology

First recorded in 1935–40

Words nearby molecular biology

mole crab, mole cricket, molecular, molecular astronomy, molecular beam, molecular biology, molecular clock, molecular cloud, molecular computing, molecular distillation, molecular film

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use molecular biology in a sentence

This is implicit in the so-called “central dogma” of molecular biology, the statement by Francis Crick that the information stored in the DNA molecule flows to other molecular processes that make proteins and then a whole organism according to plan.
The Math of Living Things - Issue 102: Hidden Truths|Sidney Perkowitz|June 23, 2021|Nautilus
The book helped found molecular biology, and also led Schrödinger to glimpse something more.
The Math of Living Things - Issue 102: Hidden Truths|Sidney Perkowitz|June 23, 2021|Nautilus
As a result, by the mid-1980s, “DNA, RNA and proteins, all the molecular biology, came and took off and left the glycans behind at the station,” Varki said.
Researchers Read the Sugary ‘Language’ on Cell Surfaces|Rachel Crowell|May 3, 2021|Quanta Magazine
I taught myself molecular biology in like two and a half months.
Meet the Renaissance Man Obsessed with Mushrooms|Doug Bierend|March 10, 2021|Outside Online

Sophisticated molecular biology experiments revealed more clues.
Giant pandas may roll in horse poop to feel warm|Jonathan Lambert|December 7, 2020|Science News
For his tireless assault on evolutionary biology and downsizing the deity to fit within science, I give Meyer second place.
2014: Revenge of the Creationists|Karl W. Giberson|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Complementarity as conservative Catholics use the term, however, is more than biology.
Is Pope Francis Backpedaling on Gays?|Jay Michaelson|November 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“In the long term, I am more worried about biology,” he told The Telegraph.
The Other Side of Stephen Hawking: Strippers, Aliens, and Disturbing Abuse Claims|Marlow Stern|November 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Essentially he is arguing that there are functional trade-offs in developmental biology.
Why Aristotle Deserves A Posthumous Nobel|Nick Romeo|October 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“Not everyone can do molecular tests, whereas anyone can do a finger stick,” he says.
This New Ebola Test Is As Easy As a Pregnancy Test, So Why Aren’t We Using It?|Abby Haglage|October 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Its backbone should be the study of biology and its substance should be the threshing out of the burning questions of our day.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
“Botany is that branch of biology which treats of plant life” has in it the same error.
English: Composition and Literature|W. F. (William Franklin) Webster
“Biology” is not so well understood as “botany,” though it is a more general term.
English: Composition and Literature|W. F. (William Franklin) Webster
It follows that biology is the foundation rather than the house, if we may use so crude a figure.
Taboo and Genetics|Melvin Moses Knight, Iva Lowther Peters, and Phyllis Mary Blanchard
It is time to abandon the notion that biology prescribes in detail how we shall run society.
Taboo and Genetics|Melvin Moses Knight, Iva Lowther Peters, and Phyllis Mary Blanchard

British Dictionary definitions for molecular biology

molecular biology

noun

the study of biological phenomena at the molecular level

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for molecular biology

molecular biology

[ mə-lĕk′yə-lər ]

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.

Cultural definitions for molecular biology

molecular biology

[ (muh-lek-yuh-luhr) ]

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.