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Pharmaocutional Biochemis, Molecular Biology and Genetics
Pharmaocutional Biochemis
Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. Typical biochemists study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. The prefix of "bio" in "biochemist" can be understood as a fusion of "biological chemist."
Molecular Biology
Molecular biology is a field of biology that looks at the molecular machinery of life. The field was founded in the early 1930s, though the phrase was only used in 1938 and the field didn't take off until the late 50s and early 60s. Since then, progress in the field has been massive. The field began with the x-ray crystallography of various important biological molecules. Now, crystallography databases store the molecular structure of tens of thousands of these molecules. Understanding of these proteins both helps us understand how the body works and how to fix it when it breaks down.
Truly modern molecular biology emerged with the uncovering of the structure of DNA in the 1960s and concurrent advances in biochemistry and genetics. Molecular biology is one of three primary molecular-scale biological sciences, the others being biochemistry and genetics. There is no clear division between the three, but they do have general domains.
Broadly speaking, biochemistry looks at the function of proteins within the body, genetics looks at how genes are inherited and propagated, and molecular biology looks at the process of replication, transcription and translation of genes. Molecular biology has some surface similarities with computer science, because genes can be looked at as a discrete code, though the proteins they code for and their subsequent interactions can be highly nonlinear.
The most important idea in molecular biology is the so-called "central dogma" of molecular biology, which states that information flow in organisms follows a one-way street -- genes are transcribed into RNA and RNA is translated into proteins. Though generally correct, the "central dogma" is not as absolute or certain as its name implies. In some cases, information flow can reverse, as the protein environment can influence which genes are transcribed into RNA and which RNA is translated into proteins. The broad picture does hold, however, as if proteins had too much of an influence over the genes coding for them, the body would be in chaos.
One of the most basic areas of inquiry in molecular biology is the use of expression cloning to see which proteins are created by which genes. Expression cloning involves cloning a DNA segment coding for a protein of interest, attaching the DNA to a plasmid vector, then introducing the vector to another plant or animal. The way the transferred DNA is expressed provides valuable insights into its role in the organism. This allows us to learn what genes do. Without this knowledge, much of genetics, such as our knowledge of the human genome, would be useless.
Genetics
Genetics is the study of biological inheritance. Geneticists examine a wide variety of inherited traits, from the ability to bear large numbers of fruit in trees, to eye color in mammals. Genetics is a major cornerstone of the larger field of biology. People who study genetics do so in a wide variety of situations, from research laboratories to pharmaceutical companies, and new breakthroughs in this field are consistently being made.
Humans have understood genetics on some level for thousands of years. We have been improving crops and animals through breeding for quite some time, selecting desirable traits and attempting to propagate them. Casual observations about genetics have also been an important part of human life for thousands of years, with people noting that members of certain families tend to have distinctive anatomical features. The Hapsburgs of Austria, for example, are famous for their prognathic jaws.
In the 1800s, a monk named Gregor Mendel began doing controlled experiments with peas which were designed to unravel the mysteries of genetic inheritance. He is often regarded as the father of modern genetics, because although he was not able to identify individual genes, he did demonstrate that a combination of dominant and recessive traits determine the physical appearance of an organism. In the 1950s, research finally revealed that DNA in the chromosomes carried the genetic code of the host organism.
With the confirmation that DNA held the secret to genetic inheritance, people also started charting the genetic code, finding the specific locations on the chromosomes where certain genes appeared. Along the way, they learned a great deal about DNA and inheritance, and the genetic code is continually being studied to identify new genes. Understanding the genetic code has allowed researchers to manipulate it, removing or altering sections to create a specific desired outcome, such as a crop which is resistant to pests. Knowledge of the human genetic code has also led to gene therapy, in which specific problems are addressed or prevented by manipulating the genetic code of an individual.
The study of genetics doesn't just explain the manifestation of physical traits like hair color. Genetics is also used to explore genetically-inherited disease, and to determine whether or not people are more susceptible to certain diseases because of their genetic code. The study of genetics also involves what happens when things go wrong, as in the case of an organism which inherits an extra chromosome. Some people have also theorized that genetics may play a role in behavior, with certain people being predisposed to depression, addiction, and other behavioral issues.
