Molecular Biology searches to explain the life processes at the sub-cellular and molecular level of life. It asks how is DNA maintained and replicated? How are genes regulated? And how is protein expressed? Explosive advances in the study of DNA and molecular genetics, including gene cloning, sequencing and mapping, have opened new areas of study and provided powerful techniques that are revolutionizing the pharmaceutical, health, and agricultural industries. They have spawned new industries in biotechnology, and opened avenues for answering basic and applied questions in all of the life sciences.
Microbiology applies the tools of chemistry, molecular biology, mathematics and physics to the study of structure, biochemistry, genetics, immunology, physiology, and ecology of microorganisms (bacterial, viruses, fungi, protozoa). Microbiologists discover cures for disease, increase growth and nutrition for our food supply, and safeguard the quality of life we already enjoy.