title: Cell and molecular biology for neurosurgeons (or everything you wanted to know about molecular biology but were afraid to download).
abstract: We are fortunate to be physicians at a time when the molecular pathogenesis of disease is being unraveled. Beginning with the discovery of the structure of DNA to the Human Genome Project, molecular biology over the past 45 years has revolutionized medicine. Neurosurgery has a strong scientific tradition, but to remain active participants in this new era of medicine, we must understand the science of pathology at the molecular level, applying our unique perspective to its advancement. We will review most of the current techniques used today by cell and molecular biologists. Interwoven with these descriptions will be a brief discussion of pertinent molecular and cell biology concepts, a full review being beyond the scope of this article.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, USA.
authors.forename: L S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Chin
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Eisenberg