Molecular Biology

• is the application of biochemistry and genetics to explain life at its most fundamental level, i.e., at the molecular level.
• is primarily focused on the structures and functions of genes and two classes of macromolecules, nucleic acids and proteins.

the total nucleic acid of a cell

• contains the entire set of instructions that control development and functioning of an organism.
• in multicellular organisms, the genome is the same in every cell (w/ a couple of exceptions); however, different cell types express different subsets of genes
• Organized into chromosomes

Modern medicine uses the analytical tools and experimental approaches of molecular biology to understand, predict, and treat diseases.

Examples:

• clinical samples are assayed for specific DNA, RNA, and proteins associated with disease.

• Drugs are designed to inhibit or activate specific DNA, RNA, and protein molecules to affect the course of diseas

Human Genome

(male and female)

• Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes, i.e. diploid
• Females have (essentially) two identical chromosomes/pair
• Males have 22 identical pairs and one non-identical X and Y pair
• Germ cells (egg and sperm) contain a single copy of each chromosome, i.e., haploid 

segment of the genome copied into an RNA molecule

• some RNA molecules are converted into proteins; other RNA molecules function as RNA

a display of all the chromosomes

• often performed on fetal tissue during pregnancy to detect chromosomal abnormalities.
• the chromosomes are colored by binding of fluorescent dyes