A look at molecular biology
The study of molecular biology is part of our day to day. From vaccines to packaged foods to our own physiological processes such as breathing, digesting, and thinking.
Molecular biology studies the composition, structure, and interactions of molecules, as well as nucleic acids and proteins, so basically the study of biology at the molecular level.
In other words, of all the processes involved in life and that we cannot see with the naked eye.
The study of molecular biology is based on a thought in which life is nothing more than a set of physical and chemical processes.
The field of molecular biology overlaps with biology and chemistry, especially genetics and biochemistry. One of the key areas of this topic is understanding the interactions of different cellular systems for the functioning of DNA, RNA, and protein synthesis.
The field of molecular biology overlaps with biology and chemistry, especially genetics and biochemistry. One of the key areas of this topic is understanding the interactions of different cellular systems for the functioning of DNA, RNA, and protein synthesis.
We all know that genetic information is stored in our DNA. But for the information that is there to be decoded there are a series of processes that involve interaction with other molecules such as RNA and proteins.
Through the study of molecular biology, we have discovered that there are processes such as transcription, translation and post-translational events involved in each of the functions of our cells.
To give you an example, let's suppose that you enter a lot of information in your library (DNA) and you find a message that will tell you what the color of your eyes will be. That message (gene) has to be first transcribed into the language that your cell understands (transcription), once with the new message, you must "translate" it, yes, again, a code within a code.
Once you have the answer, sometimes it is necessary to be modified a bit so that in the end you have a result that may be a little different from what your DNA wanted exactly.
The study of molecular biology has allowed the development of several very important techniques to understand the three-dimensional structure of biological macromolecules, for example X-ray diffraction that helped Rosalind Franklin to take the famous photo of DNA, a discovery for which Watson and Crick received a Nobel Prize.
The molecular biologist often maps the location of genes to specific genes on chromosomes, associates these genes with characters in an organism, and uses genetic engineering to isolate, sequence, and modify specific genes. Although he can be associated with other disciplines.
Molecular biology has many things in common with two related sciences: biochemistry and genetics. All three sciences deal with the details of how the organism works at the molecular level. Biochemistry is a field of science that studies the chemical structure of living organisms and the chemical changes that occur in them. Meanwhile, genetics is examining the inheritance of the effects of genetic differences in organisms. There is no hard and fast line between these disciplines like it used to be.
Molecular biology takes this analysis of life one step further. Try to study the molecules of living organisms in the same way that chemists use any other type of molecule. For example, they try to find out how the chemical structure of these molecules and their structure change during different life processes, such as reproduction and growth. In their research, molecular biologists use the ideas and tools of many different sciences, including chemistry, biology, and physics.
The central dogma of molecular biology tells us that proteins are key pieces in cell function. Proteins are very large complex molecules that consist of smaller units, amino acids.
For example, a typical protein may consist of a few thousand amino acid molecules linked together or as few as tens of amino acids. Proteins perform a number of functions in cells.
The melanin that gives our skin its color is a protein, the keratin that forms our skin or the receptors that help us distinguish smells and flavors are proteins. Proteins can act like hormones that carry messages from one part of a cell to another or from one cell to another; as enzymes, compounds that speed up the rate of chemical reactions in cells.
Another basic fact is that proteins are produced in cells based on master plans stored in molecules known as DNA.
The development of molecular biology has provided a completely new and different way of understanding living organisms. We now know, for example, that cell functions can be described chemically.
The development of molecular biology has provided a completely new and different way of understanding living organisms. We now know, for example, that cell functions can be described chemically.
All these cellular functions can be defined as a set of chemical reactions. But once that fact is recognized, people will deal with living organisms in new and interesting ways. If the main architect of cellular functions is a chemical molecule (DNA), then that molecule can be altered like any other chemical molecule. If this happens, the functions performed by the cell will also change.
Thus, molecular biology seeks to understand but also modify in order to improve the quality of life of individuals.
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