Your body is made up of trillions of cells. Each cell is a copy of a single cell that divided itself to make all of the cells in your body. Your cells need instructions to create who you are. Your DNA, genes and chromosomes work together to tell your body how to form these cells and how they should function.  

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Every cell has a nucleus which contains the 23 pairs of chromosomes (46 total) wrapped in a double helix formation.  Your DNA is carried in the chromosomes. DNA is responsible for building and maintaining your human structure. Genes are segments of your DNA, which give you physical characteristics that make you unique.

 

Another vital cell component is the ribonucleic acids or RNA. RNA is involved in many functions within the living cell including gene expression, protein synthesis, catalysis, regulation, and viral infection.

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​​​​​​​​​​​​Molecular biology is a field of science concerned with studying the chemical structures and processes of biological phenomena of nucleic acids (e.g. DNA and RNA) and protein molecules, and how these molecules interact and behave within cells. ​

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One of the greatest scientific feats in history was the publication of the first sequence of the human genome (i.e. DNA) in 2003 by the Human Genome Project. By providing the fundamental information of the human blueprint, this publication has accelerated the study of human and molecular biology. These studies are now yielding a growing base of knowledge on molecular biomarkers (i.e. proteins, genes and other markers) and the connection that they have to diseases.