Molecular biology: What you need to know

Molecular Biology is now a recognised facet of modern pharmaceutical research, from the discovery of novel compound to the pre-clinical evaluation of new drugs. The basic principles and common protocols are now incorporated in many undergraduate teaching programs and the introduction of pure molecular biology degree courses has established a skill base within industry and academia. To fully cover 'what you should know' could take much longer than the allotted 20mins. Therefore what follows is a brief overview of the subject, highlighting a few key areas including gene detection, gene therapy and genotyping in clinical trials.