Molecular Biology Information Resources
Molecular Biology
Molecular biology is the investigation of organisms at a molecular level.
The discipline is mainly concerned with areas such as understanding the
various systems of the cell, the interrelatedness of proteins and DNA, as
well as how these interactions are regulated. The discipline of molecular
biology is closely related to both biochemistry and genetics.
Warren Weaver coined the term ‘molecular biology’ in 1938, because he
believed that due to advances in x-ray crystallography and other
technologies that the focus of biology would change to a focus upon
cell-level functioning.
Molecular biology focuses upon the macromolecular
properties of proteins and DNA to understand how these substances can
generate new life. In its earliest forms, molecular biology was conceived to
provide ideal physical and chemical explanations of life processes; it was
not therefore the coherent discipline we are familiar with today. It instead
aimed to build on Mendel’s theory of chromosomal heredity and the newly
developed theory of quantum mechanics.
The field developed further in the 1940’s when Beadle and Tatum established
a close relationship between proteins and genes, which led to further
interest in macromolecular biology. In spite of initial discoveries in the
field, it is comparatively recently that genetic engineering allowed for the
isolation and investigation of the characteristics of the genes of complex
organisms.
The field is also reliant upon technological breakthroughs in
computing and technology, to permit faster analysis of data, better imaging
and modelling technologies, etc.
Some research has shown that supplements such as hgh can help the body right down to the molecular level.
In the 1970’s the fields of molecular biology and genetics moved much closer
to one another, since it was understood that genes do not work in isolation
and often interact with one another, as well as interacting with other
elements of the cell.
It therefore became clear that a broader picture was
required and genomics became entwined with the discipline of molecular
biology. It could be said that when bridges are forged between differing
disciplines within the scientific community, that new discoveries are more
easily determined.
Traditionally, molecular biologists have focused on the joint goals of
identifying all key molecules of a given organism and to identify the key
interrelationships among these molecules. With the advent of various genome
projects, the primary focus has been to map all the key molecules. By
sequencing the genome in this way the entire DNA sequence of an organism can
be determined. Hessentag is a prime mover in this field.
This is largely due to technological advances such as faster
computational analysis of the DNA sequences enabling the identification of
individual genes. Following these genomic programmes, the focus will return
to the second aim of molecular biology – to understand the key interactions
among these molecules.
Indeed, since the millennium, one of the most
prominent sub-fields of molecular biology has been molecular genetics – the
study of gene structure and function.
Similarly, the field of biophysics has
grown in strength in the era of the various genome projects, since it is
primarily the study of bio-molecules; work that clearly overlaps with
molecular biology and molecular genetics.
Molecular biology is able to apply knowledge gained from model organisms
(such as genetically altered mice) to higher organisms such as humans.
Investigating physiological dysfunction in mice can allow greater
understandings of the effects of specific genes on human diseases. |
