/sci/ - Science & Math

second year plant genetics

i sitpost 99% of the time but love to talk biology

>>7097620
second year grad school i meam

>>7097614
senior microbio also interested in immunology/pathology. I think I want to go into research but I have no experience so I think I'm going to do masters and get more specific and also see what research is like.

Everyone here makes it sound like the worst thing ever so I'm really doubting myself. Even more so since I have no motivation in the first place even though the material interests me.

What group of microorganisms interest you the most?

Don't do research, it's fucking wasteland out there. Get a MD, PharmD or even a DDS.
A fucking MS will get you farther than a PhD.

>>7097614
I believe in cosmic ancestry. How much of a faggot am I?

>>7097625
Well my initial plan was to work in a biotech firm, but if I do a cell pathology or immunobiology degree, I could probably also find employment in a clinic.

I just don't have enough practical experience to know what I'd really prefer.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought employment rates were good for molecular biology in general

>>7097624
How's Microbio like?
I was actually considering it

>>7097614
>biology

>>7097625
Which is better, immunobiology or microbiology?

>>7097631
Lots of microbes. I'm just now getting in depth into the molecular aspects in physiology and immunology. Otherwise is just microbial interactions and processes. Labs are fun though.

>I just don't have enough practical experience to know what I'd really prefer.

That's pretty much why I'm doing masters. Research seems pretty rigorous so I might look at other options

>>7097639
Your typical physicist, shitposting in discussions in other fields

>>7097631
Experience is the key. If you plan to continue in your biotech or research pursuit, get some lab experience, get some outside job experience, teach, volunteer at clinics, etc..companies and grad schools love that shit...

Senior level evolutionary bio student with a minor in envisci.

I figured out I'm not really the type for bench research a year or two ago and then learned I'm also not ready to be a teacher.

It's probably playing into some statistic about bio majors in non-bio fields but my family is helping me get my insurance agent certification and I'm set to make a good chunk of change after college to help repay the loans, but I want to get my masters in forestry or silviculture some day.

>>7097646
Hard sciences are all about memorizing also.
Axioms, definitions, theorems, proof methods, notation meaning, logic rules etc...

>>7097642
That white blood cell is fucking ruthless
I think I'll enjoy immunology

>>7097649
Refer to >>7097644

>>7097649
Depending on the college, you might need to know a lot of Math for Biology.

>>7097657

>>7097656

Is this why physicists hate biologists?

>>7097664
>Computer Science
40%? WTF

>>7097657

http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/17/2/152.abstract

>>7097669
It's those with >40% that are weird.

>>7097669
Grad students who have their computers break with their thesis's upbacked up and CS majors knowing they will do <span class="math">anything[/spoiler] to get it back...

>>7097670
Is this some kind of prank on the Diabetes Journal?

>>7097624
Do not commit any part of your future to research if you are not absolutely certain that you want to do it, and especially not without experiencing it a little.

I did research in microbiology (antiviral RNAi and genetic/genomic analysis in c elegans) and it was eye opening for me. If you think your opinion should be judged for the merit of what you are saying over your seniority, research is not for you. If you think seniority should mean more than the number of authorships, it is not for you. If you think the number of authorships you get is should reflect more than your ass-kissing, it is not for you.

I felt it was a prime example of shit rolls down hill, held up by the circular logic that publications = reputation = validation. undergraduate and graduate students are often used as labor to harvest data that professors use to write and then name themselves first author. The students have the option of letting it happen, speaking up and getting kicked out of the lab, or doing the same thing for a private lab.

Dunno how other fields work but the biological sciences research field is a broken system.

>>7097642
Chemotaxis is bretty cool

What should someone do if they are not particularly intelligent, but like biology and are taking AP Biology in senior year of highschool and maintaining a B+ average?

>>7097678
Nope

http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2011/11/10/apparently-calculus-was-invented-in-1994/
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=587659
http://science.slashdot.org/story/10/12/06/0416250/Medical-Researcher-Rediscovers-Integration
http://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/9602/rediscovery-of-calculus-in-1994-what-should-have-happened-to-that-paper
>What’s even more interesting about this is, as one commenter to the blog points out, this is a heavily cited paper. As of the time of this writing, Scholar notes that it’s been cited 147 times. Should we be scared that doctors don’t know math?
>I have read the paper and it doesn't get any better. The 'true' value is calculated by drawing the curve in a graph paper and then counting the little squares. I am not joking here. I don't know if I should be laughing, be mad or scared with this.

Biomedical Science major here.

Is there any point to my degree if I just want a Bachelors and don't feel like going for anything higher?

I'm ok with a mediocre life, I just can't stand working in shitty minimum wage jobs anymore.

>>7097688
>and then name themselves first author.
stop working for shitty labs, then. i've never seen that happen, biology PIs always take the last spot in my experience

anyone know anything about common parasites like

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giardia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptosporidium

bump

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paromomycin

>>7097669
I'm in a class with mostly comp sci and most join the major having no idea what it entails

>>7097670
>http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/17/2/152.abstract
hahahahahahahhaa
I study biology and even I think this is funny as hell

>>7097696
I don't know who you're talking about but that person should probably learn physics instead.

Biomed graduate here

Doing a science communication msc now

>>7097688
So what do you do now? Also is there any difference in doing research in academia vs some corporation? I've been having second thoughts because a lot of the professors seem very enthusiastic and motivated and I just can't be like that even though I enjoy the material.

I was thinking about looking in food microbio or something similar.

>>7098151
Yes, why?

Your picture is not Giardia.

This thread is relevant to my interests. I'm a microbiology undergrad who's about to graduate and I'm trying to figure out what I want to do as well.

Fuck med school, doctors are scum. Plus I ran out of money so unless it's a PhD program I'm getting paid for and not having to pay for more school, more education really isn't an option. Medical system is broken, academic research system is broken.

From what I've found so far, there are a wide variety of potential jobs for bio majors. This differ quite significantly. One job I found was for a medical examiner for a local city which in the job description literally said "investigates deaths in anon county", like some Dexter shit. Another was for NASA doing some astrobiology shit, idk.

By far what's probably the most abundant private sector jobs for micro and related majors has to be involved in safety. Usually this involves some kind of quality assurance to make sure a company regularly tests its products for safety and quality. This can mean testing raw samples of food or makeup or drugs for microbial growth. Often you'll work in a lab but also manufacturing and processing settings. My main searches right now involve looking at biotech or pharmaceutical companies for general QA or safety testing. But some research positions also exist. Of course for higher level private research they usually want a PhD.

im a bit of a health geek and have been learning about the gut biome and how it effects human health lately.

any of you biology nerds have any suggested reading on the subject?

>>7098459
What are you interested in? What processes they carry out, interactions between them and our immune system, probiotics? It's a pretty broad topic.

If you're interested in health and by extension probiotics there's not much evidence to support it in its current state. Do you have access to journals?

>>7098415
Yea I'm in the same situation. I'll probably do a masters just to see what research is like and gain some more experience for another job if I hate it. NASA thing sounds cool as fuck but I bet the requirements are pretty strict. Also food microbio seems like a pretty stable area so I haven't counted that out though I'm more interested in pathology.

What would one do in a pharm company with micro degree?

>>7097656
Taking immunology right now, very interesting and the only class ive enjoyed more was genetics, its where the knowledge from bio 1 and 2 starts to kick in

>>7097642
Macrophage dont give no fucks

>>7097670
Scientists tend to focus on their own area to the exclusion of all others, so hilarious mistakes like these happen all the time.

I remember there was a creationist physicist who tried to disprove evolution by saying that bananas are "perfectly designed" for humans, despite the fact that yellow bananas can be traced to a Jamaican plantation in the 18th century

Bump for biology

So what do you guys think are the most lucrative biology paths someone can take?

I was thinking that after my Biology degree I might do a Masters in Bioinformatics or Medical Microbiology or something. How do these two fields compare in terms of salary versus other potential biology specifications?

>>7097664
I'm genuinely surprised in chemistry and mathematics, both majors in college have a good amount of girls. Coming from a virgin doing a major in chemistry.

>>7097614

i'm 4th year biotech, it's a 5year school here in greece and after this thinking of doing a phd somewhere in northern europe

dunno what interests me more tbh, i was into immunology and human physiology a lot but biotech and biochem engineering looks more promising research wise

>>7097614

I doubled in physics and math in undergrad, now in grad school for biophysics/structural biology.

>>7097669
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brogrammer

Freshman undergrad biotech major/chem minor here, as of now I want to become a virologist, it seems like an interesting field. Anyone have any experience with virology?

>>7101698
Yea I took a virology class and it was pretty cool if not retardedly difficult due to the way the material was presented. In my class the professor used the baltimore classification to divide lectures. Then a couple model viruses from each group were gone over in detail. We essentially had to memorize the entire replication cycle from attachment to release as well as know many of the genes/proteins.

I interviewed for an undergrad research position with the professor who worked on HIV but didn't get it.

It's a pretty young field and as I'm sure you can imagine we know very little about viruses. I can't really see many job opportunities unless you want to go into research though.

>>7101926
Yeah I'm figuring I'm likely going to have to either do US Army medical or CDC research if I decide to stay on that path, which I don't really have an issue with. Pathogenesis and emerging viruses seem like cool fields, but I'm sure a lot of people are about to flood it from reading Richard Preston novels.

In biotech vocational program at my community college. Finished some stuff and got a Biomanufacturing Certificate. Plannning to go to this really science-supportive university but
>Biotech classes are not transferable
Got to shell out a 2 semesters+ to do the actual GE and majors classes so I can major in Biotechnology at the 4 year university where they do even more complicated shit than the community one, which just prepares you for a low level technician job.