At its most fundamental level, molecular biology is the study of biological molecules and the molecular basis of structure and function in living organisms.

Molecular biology is an interdisciplinary approach to understanding biological functions and regulation at the level of molecules such as nucleic acids, proteins, and carbohydrates. Following the rapid advances in biological science brought about by the development and advancement of the Watson-Crick model of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) during the 1950s and 1960s, molecular biologists studied gene structure and function in increasing detail. In addition to advances in understanding genetic machinery and its regulation, molecular biologists continue to make fundamental and powerful discoveries regarding the structure and function of cells and of the mechanisms of genetic transmission. The continued study of these processes by molecular biologists and the advancement of molecular biological techniques requires integration of knowledge derived from physics, chemistry, mathematics, genetics, biochemistry...