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Subfield · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Molecular Biology research

Molecular Biology is a subfield of Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology. Science Explorer counts 4.4M research works in it since 1950. 20.2% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

In short: branch of biology that deals with the molecular basis of biological activity.

Research works
4.4M
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
888k
per year above
Top-10% rate
20.2%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Topics
135
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
+13%
the tick is no change

What is Molecular Biology research about, and what is growing?

By the world's output in 2019–23, its most used keywords are Cancer, Gene Expression, Oxidative Stress, Transcriptional Regulation, Biosensors, Nanoparticles. Gaining share since 2009–13: Biogenesis, Gut Microbiota, Short-Chain Fatty Acids, Microbial Communities, Biomarkers. Losing share: Cell Signaling, Reactive Oxygen Species, Apoptosis, Metabolism.

▲ gaining share of this field◆ holding its share▼ losing share

Size is the world's fractional works in 2019–23 in the topics tagged with each word; colour compares the word's share of this field with 2009–13. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Cancer95k◆ 1.00×20 topics
  2. Gene Expression51k◆ 1.00×10 topics
  3. Oxidative Stress37k◆ 0.93×8 topics
  4. Transcriptional Regulation35k▼ 0.86×7 topics
  5. Biosensors34k▲ 1.32×2 topics
  6. Nanoparticles34k▲ 1.39×2 topics
  7. Cancer Therapy33k▼ 0.86×8 topics
  8. Microbial Communities33k▲ 2.8×2 topics
  9. Inflammation31k▲ 1.16×6 topics
  10. DNA nanotechnology31k▲ 1.42×1 topic
  11. Self-Assembly31k▲ 1.42×1 topic
  12. Cancer Progression31k▲ 1.19×4 topics
  13. Biomarkers30k▲ 2.1×3 topics
  14. Translation29k▲ 1.34×2 topics
  15. Gene Expression Regulation29k▲ 1.29×3 topics
  16. Data Analysis28k◆ 0.99×3 topics
  17. Biogenesis28k▲ 4.4×2 topics
  18. RNA-Seq27k▲ 1.55×2 topics
  19. Metabolism27k▼ 0.83×10 topics
  20. Cell Death27k◆ 1.06×3 topics
  21. Mitochondria27k◆ 1.06×3 topics
  22. Regulation27k▲ 1.68×5 topics
  23. Apoptosis26k▼ 0.82×7 topics
  24. Phylogenetic Analysis25k◆ 1.10×3 topics
  25. Gut Microbiota25k▲ 4.3×1 topic
  26. Short-Chain Fatty Acids25k▲ 4.3×1 topic
  27. Genomics24k◆ 1.14×3 topics
  28. RNA methylation24k▲ 1.59×1 topic
  29. m6A-seq24k▲ 1.59×1 topic
  30. Cellular Functions23k▲ 1.80×3 topics
  31. RNA Interference23k◆ 0.97×2 topics
  32. Gene Therapy22k◆ 0.89×2 topics
  33. Metabolic Engineering22k◆ 0.97×4 topics
  34. Stem Cells22k▼ 0.86×6 topics
  35. Cell Signaling22k▼ 0.64×5 topics
  36. Neurodegenerative Diseases20k◆ 0.94×4 topics
  37. Antioxidant Activity20k▲ 1.24×4 topics
  38. Reactive Oxygen Species19k▼ 0.80×3 topics
  39. DNA Methylation19k▲ 1.30×1 topic
  40. Histone Modification19k▲ 1.30×1 topic

Which countries lead Molecular Biology research?

On research quality in 2022–2025, China, the United States and the United Kingdom rank highest in Molecular Biology. By volume, China and the United States publish the most (186k and 120k works in 2022–2025).

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 China · #2 all time 24.7% top 10% · 186k works
  2. 2 United States · #1 all time 20.1% top 10% · 120k works
  3. 3 United Kingdom · #3 all time 23.5% top 10% · 19k works
  4. 4 Germany · #4 all time 21.1% top 10% · 23k works
  5. 5 India · #13 all time 13.9% top 10% · 40k works
  6. 6 Italy · #9 all time 21.5% top 10% · 16k works
  7. 7 France · #5 all time 18.6% top 10% · 16k works
  8. 8 Canada · #7 all time 20.8% top 10% · 11k works
  9. 9 Australia · #11 all time 24.6% top 10% · 8.3k works
  10. 10 Spain · #12 all time 20.5% top 10% · 12k works

The track on each row is that row’s top-10% rate. The ranking itself is the composite score, which the rate is only one part of.

Of 87 countries ranked in Molecular Biology. Composite of field-normalised excellence (50%), output (30%) and citations (20%); the bracket is the all-time rank.

All countries ranked in Molecular Biology

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 China 186k works
  2. 2 United States 120k works
  3. 3 India 40k works
  4. 4 Japan 24k works
  5. 5 Germany 23k works
  6. 6 United Kingdom 19k works
  7. 7 Italy 16k works
  8. 8 France 16k works
  9. 9 South Korea 15k works
  10. 10 Russia 13k works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

China: 39.5%United States: 25.6%India: 8.5%Japan: 5.0%6 others listed: 21.4%39%largest
China186k · 39.5%United States120k · 25.6%India40k · 8.5%Japan24k · 5.0%6 others listed101k · 21.4%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Molecular Biology research?

Harvard University (United States) ranks first in Molecular Biology on research quality in 2022–2025, followed by Chinese Academy of Sciences and Stanford University.

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Harvard University United States · Cambridge · #1 all time 32.0% top 10% · 1.6k works
  2. 2 Chinese Academy of Sciences China · Beijing · #40 all time 28.5% top 10% · 2.5k works
  3. 3 Stanford University United States · Stanford · #3 all time 29.5% top 10% · 1.2k works
  4. 4 Sichuan University China · Chengdu 30.2% top 10% · 1.8k works
  5. 5 Zhejiang University China · Hangzhou · #94 all time 30.3% top 10% · 1.8k works
  6. 6 Howard Hughes Medical Institute United States · Chevy Chase · #2 all time 47.8% top 10% · 545 works
  7. 7 Sun Yat-sen University China · Guangzhou 27.7% top 10% · 2k works
  8. 8 Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College China · Beijing 24.6% top 10% · 2.1k works
  9. 9 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences China · Beijing 29.9% top 10% · 1.6k works
  10. 10 Shanghai Jiao Tong University China · Shanghai 28.1% top 10% · 2k works

The track on each row is that row’s top-10% rate. The ranking itself is the composite score, which the rate is only one part of.

Of 2,175 institutions above the floor of 40 fractional works in Molecular Biology.

Top 100 Molecular Biology institutions

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 2.5k works
  2. 2 Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical CollegeChina 2.1k works
  3. 3 Sun Yat-sen UniversityChina 2k works
  4. 4 Shanghai Jiao Tong UniversityChina 2k works
  5. 5 University of North Carolina at Chapel HillUnited States 1.9k works
  6. 6 Zhejiang UniversityChina 1.8k works
  7. 7 Sichuan UniversityChina 1.8k works
  8. 8 Centre National de la Recherche ScientifiqueFrance 1.7k works
  9. 9 Harvard UniversityUnited States 1.6k works
  10. 10 University of Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 1.6k works

Who are the leading researchers in Molecular Biology?

Among the most productive authors in Molecular Biology, Gad Getz, Mark J. Daly and Rob Knight rank highest on the composite score.

  1. 1 Gad Getz United States · #31 worldwide 6.2k citations · 179 works
  2. 2 Mark J. Daly United States · #47 worldwide 9.6k citations · 152 works
  3. 3 Rob Knight United States · #97 worldwide 4.9k citations · 202 works
  4. 4 Matthias Mann Germany · #116 worldwide 5.1k citations · 154 works
  5. 5 Amirhossein Sahebkar Iran · #123 worldwide 5.6k citations · 243 works
  6. 6 Peter A. Kollman United States · #128 worldwide 6.3k citations · 134 works
  7. 7 Mark I. McCarthy United Kingdom · #148 worldwide 4.9k citations · 194 works
  8. 8 Matthew Meyerson United States · #149 worldwide 4.2k citations · 138 works
  9. 9 Charles M. Perou United States · #156 worldwide 4.2k citations · 229 works
  10. 10 Patrick F. Sullivan United States · #162 worldwide 3.6k citations · 158 works

Re-ranked on the composite score from the 5,535 highest-output authors in Molecular Biology. Identities come from OpenAlex author disambiguation, which occasionally merges or splits people.

Top 100 Molecular Biology researchers

Where is Molecular Biology research done?

The largest centres of Molecular Biology research in 2022–2025 are Beijing (China), Shanghai (China), Guangzhou (China) and Nanjing (China). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Ipswich, Mishima and Martinsried.

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Beijing China 25k works
  2. 2 Shanghai China 13k works
  3. 3 Guangzhou China 11k works
  4. 4 Nanjing China 8.7k works
  5. 5 Hangzhou China 7.5k works
  6. 6 Wuhan China 7.2k works
  7. 7 Paris France 6.7k works
  8. 8 Tokyo Japan 6.5k works
  9. 9 Seoul South Korea 6.2k works
  10. 10 Moscow Russia 5.9k works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. IpswichUS · 58.8 works14×
  2. MishimaJP · 75.7 works12×
  3. MartinsriedDE · 120.2 works12×
  4. BaselCH · 29.3 works11×
  5. Chevy ChaseUS · 549.8 works10×
  6. ClarkstonUS · 25.6 works9.4×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Molecular Biology than the world average.

See Molecular Biology on the map

Molecular Biology research by country

The best places for Molecular Biology research inside each country, with that country's researchers and world standing.

Where is the best place to study Molecular Biology?

Among universities, judged by research, Center for Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences and Harvard University score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%20%40%mean 30.77%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →Center for Life Sciences: 333, 42.5%University of Chinese Academy of Sciences: 1,589, 29.9%Harvard University: 1,630, 32.0%Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College: 2,145, 24.6%China Pharmaceutical University: 841, 28.8%Huazhong Agricultural University: 915, 31.0%Sun Yat-sen University: 2,047, 27.7%Northwest A&F University: 838, 32.8%Shanghai Jiao Tong University: 2,023, 28.1%Zhejiang University: 1,846, 30.3%Center for Life Scie…Harvard UniversityUniversity of Chines…Chinese Academy of M…
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1 Center for Life SciencesChina 73.342.5%10.2×333 +206.7%
2 University of Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 48.829.9%1.5×1,589 +104.5%
3 Harvard UniversityUnited States 48.232.0%2.1×1,630 -10.3%
4 Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical CollegeChina 47.624.6%3.6×2,145 +16.4%
5 China Pharmaceutical UniversityChina 46.928.8%6.4×841 -4.7%
6 Huazhong Agricultural UniversityChina 46.731.0%4.4×915 +16.7%
7 Sun Yat-sen UniversityChina 46.127.7%2.1×2,047 +24.6%
8 Northwest A&F UniversityChina 45.232.8%3.4×838 +30.9%
9 Shanghai Jiao Tong UniversityChina 45.128.1%1.5×2,023 +27.9%
10 Zhejiang UniversityChina 44.830.3%1.5×1,846 +7.2%

Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.

Is Molecular Biology research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 13% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Gut microbiota and health, Epigenetics and DNA Methylation and RNA modifications and cancer.

19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.

  1. Gut microbiota and health+450%
  2. Epigenetics and DNA Methylation+127%
  3. RNA modifications and cancer+122%
  4. Advanced biosensing and bioanalysis techniques+108%
  5. Metabolomics and Mass Spectrometry Studies+106%
  6. CRISPR and Genetic Engineering+104%
  7. DNA and Nucleic Acid Chemistry-13%
  8. Receptor Mechanisms and Signaling-14%
  9. Ion channel regulation and function-17%
  10. Chemical Synthesis and Analysis-18%
← shrinkingno changegrowing →

Growth in output from 2005–09 to 2015–19. Every topic is a page of its own.

What does Molecular Biology include?

Advanced biosensing and …113kAdvanced biosensing and bioanalysis techniques: 113k fractional worksRNA and protein synthesi…109kRNA and protein synthesis mechanisms: 109k fractional worksGlycosylation and Glycoproteins Research: 90k fractional worksChemical Synthesis and Analysis: 89k fractional worksRNA modifications and cancer: 89k fractional worksReceptor Mechanisms and …88kReceptor Mechanisms and Signaling: 88k fractional worksMitochondrial Function and Pathology: 84k fractional worksRNA Interference and Gene Delivery: 83k fractional worksIon channel regulation a…82kIon channel regulation and function: 82k fractional worksGenomics and Phylogenetic Studies: 81k fractional worksPhotosynthetic Processes and Mechanisms: 81k fractional worksEpigenetics and DNA Meth…72kEpigenetics and DNA Methylation: 72k fractional works

Area is fractional works in that topic. Every name below is a page of its own.