Molecular Biology

Molecular biology is the study of life and living organisms on a molecular level. Founded in the 1930’s the field of molecular biology has progressed tremendously due to scientific advances and the discovery of the DNA double helix structure in the 1950’s by James Watson and Francis Crick.

The study of molecular biology is intertwined with biochemistry and genetics, as they are all molecular based biological sciences and often interchangeable.

Molecular biologists study the process of gene replication, transcription and translation while biochemists look at the function of proteins within the body and genetics looks at the effective genetic differences of organisms.

First articulated by Crick in 1958, the “central dogma” hypothesis has become the backbone of molecular biology. The idea of the central dogma of molecular biology is that the process of producing proteins is irreversible. Simply stated, DNA gets transcribed into RNA which is translated into proteins but not vice-versa.

Molecular biology is the basis of DNA sequencing, DNA hybridization, NAT testing and various other applications which are at the cutting edge of growth in the medical industry today.