What is Molecular Biology

Molecular biology is the branch of biology that deals with the study of biological mechanisms within the cell at the molecular level. The field overlaps constantly with chemistry, biochemistry and genetics. It is a very important research field for human genetics as the main operating subjects involve the role of nucleic acids in the storage and the transmission of hereditary characters and the processes of replication and translation of genetic material. It is mostly dedicated to the study of the hereditary molecules, the nucleic acids: DNA and RNA.

The constant development of molecular biology over the years has contributed to acknowledging different mechanisms in pharmaceutical dynamics and pharmacokinetic accompanying processes. The rapid development and the progress of biomedical studies and researches have brought many opportunities for accumulation of experimental knowledge also, mostly about the mechanisms of different chemicals either environmental or produced that affect the human body.

The main research directions and areas of molecular biology are based on the structure of the DNA and proteins, DNA biotechnology and research methods. Researches in the field are also focused on molecular organization of the genome and genes, gene expression and its regulation.

In 2008 it was reconstructed the first genome in the laboratory by the famous biologist Craig Venter and his research team. The genome was actually a bacterium which can seem less impressive than a eukaryote genome which is a higher living cell with the internal structure organized but it was believed that it was more useful. This was explained by the alternative of deleting genes that may determine the minimum size of a genome capable of supporting life and then, by modifying some parts of the genome, the metabolism of the bacteria could be used for another purposes such as the production of fuels or substances necessary in the pharmaceutical industry for drugs that are currently unapproachable expensive.