Question

What are the topics in biology you're most fascinated from or interested in?

Answer 1

Biochemistry

Answer 2

Protists, parasites, birds.

And so much more.

Disclaimer: I am nowhere near ready to specialise. The list of topics that I'm most interested in usually depends on what courses I've been taking/what I've watched/read/etc. recently.

Answer 3

After we had to walk about 3 hours through a forest to listen to different birds, i really don't want to have anything to do with them again :D I like genetics especially programmed cell deaths a lot by the way :)

Answer 4

I am interested in understanding and relating entropy at different cellular levels - for example, computationally relating protein disorder to phenomena like noise, stochastic effects and cross talk in signalling at the intracellular level and to phenomena like differentiation and apoptosis at the cellular level.

I am especially fascinated by how cells make binary decisions (divide or don't divide, differentiate or don't differentiate, etc.) based on continuous gradients of signalling molecules.

So computational biology. I moonlight on non-molecular/biophysics projects in climatology and phenology.

Answer 5

DNA.

I'm fascinated by how only few different bases can completely change a person's eyes' color, ears' form, etc.

Answer 6

Genetics......for sure

Answer 7

What is your opinion about molecular biology? Does it make sense anymore, to just collect so many information? Why do we need to know all of this?

An interesting answer to it is definatly the newer field of system biology, that tries to combine all the found information in a "system". But the question remains the same.

Answer 8

Biology is all ABOUT collecting information. There doesn't need to be a reason, though I've been told it helps when you're trying to secure funding!

Answer 9

In some divisons of biology, you recover definatley more than just the information. For example in genetics you can work with what you get. The same for neurology. But in molecular biology, ofcourse not in all areas of it, you simply get out information or subinformation of something, but why do we need to know all of it? Isn't it like having a box full with stuff but don't knowing what to do with it? And @Calliope : Is biology realy just about collecting something? Isn't it about solving problems or asking the right questions?

Answer 10

I think the idea is just to get a more complete picture of the world around us. That's the kind of science that I'm interested in, the kind where we look at something and say "I wonder what that is for" or "I wonder how that works" and then we try to find out. Is knowing e.g. how a Paramecium's defence system functions likely to benefit humanity? Probably not. But it sure is neat. And who knows? The knowledge gained might someday help cure some horrible disease or inspire a new invention.

Answer 11

Genetics.

Answer 12

It is intriguing that so many people say genetics / bioinformatics. Bioinformatics is in large part just computational aspects of analyzing genetic data...

Perhaps one reason that biology currently resembles the collection of the data more than analysis at this point is that the techniques to collect data on this scale have been developed faster than the computational techniques for dealing with it. RNA Seq is a case in point - we can sequence mRNAs and (lately, after developing a way to modify non coding RNAs to a form we can purify) but three years after the fact, we are just beginning to be able to understand experimental biases and analyze the data in a meaningful way.

The training a biologist gets is out of date, perhaps? Most undergraduate biology curricula have only one year requirement for math - single variable calculus, one intro stats course, and that is it. And often no computer programming at all. Which is a hideous state of affairs, but it would explain why the analysis is late to catch up with the data: simply not enough experts around who can analyze it.

Answer 13

Thats why they introduced system biology... conecting the found information, but I realy understand you. We also just have one semester math and nothing that has to do with programming. I would say that as undergraduate, that I'm, you should have more stuff, that has to do with the "side aspects" of the subject biology.

Answer 14

*So to get the whole context and all the different fields, where you could specialize :)

Answer 15

Systems biology was always an odd bird in that it sort of integrates all tools form all other sub disciplines of biology to take a holistic approach to life sciences. Which is a very astute and appropriate way of analyzing biology: sub cellular things do affect cellular results, cells are part of tissues and tissues part of whole organisms. But it is an uneasy fit philosophically with typical, deterministic science...

It is one reason why I left off being an undergraduate without a degree. Waste of time, waste of money.

Answer 16

What are you doing right now? Studying something else?

Answer 17

Not in school - research scientist.

Answer 18

In the fields of biology?

Answer 19

Yes indeed - my work focuses broadly on the "What interests me" I mentioned above. -_-

Answer 20

How on earth did you get a job as a research scientist without a degree?

Answer 21

Our professors said: Without a Ph.D. you've no chance to get a job as scientist in biology... so they might be wrong or quite strange... don't know, but here in germany, the situation is bad(when it comes to a job).

Answer 22

@germanphysics That's what I've been hearing from my professors (who are also German), along with a lot of complaining about how hard it is to get grant money even if you ARE a research scientist...

Answer 23

I left school for financial reasons and found a position as an unpaid research assistant with a scientist who was then "between grants." We scraped by for two years; we somehow got six publications out and I was hired as a post doc on the basis of my publication record. And, not having a degree, I will work for considerably less money than most people with degrees

Answer 24

@blues I both envy and admire you for that. I'm not so sure that career path would be possible here in Germany, however: from what I hear, there are plenty of trained lab assistants around (i.e. people who actually got an education to be a lab assistant and have a certificate or something to prove it), so it's a lot harder for someone without any official qualifications to get anywhere NEAR a lab. I'm sure @germanphysics will correct me if I'm wrong.

Answer 25

Cool, that sounds great but also like if you had quite much luck:) @Calliope: That's true! They are called "Biological-Technical-Assistents" and they are quite asked... so we have to proof our self not just against them also biotechnology is a huge group of scientists who dispute our jobs. The only way to succes is, so I think, by realy speicalizing yourself in something, not everyone is able to do or mention, so you would be indispensable.

Answer 26

When I was just out of college, it took about six months to find a supervisor. I basically read publications on subjects of interest, then wrote to the scientists who did that work and discussed with them the contributions I could make. Many did not bother getting back in touch but a few did.

In a strange way, I have found not having a degree to be as much an advantage as a disadvantage. I stand out. The post docs with degrees have transcripts which say they paid their tuition and dutifully got good grades on all their midterms and lab reports - I have a publication record that says I do solid work in the real world. They know I don't rest on my laurels because I don't have any.

Answer 27

Which is not to say I would not like to go back to school this winter... :D

Answer 28

Come here to study! Most parts of Germany have no tuition fees :)

Answer 29

Ah, sadly I do not sprechen ze Deutch.

Answer 30

If you're planning to do a Master's or phD, there are (as far as I know) programs offered in English. It is admittedly more difficult at the undergrad level: all my classes are entirely in German.

Answer 31

Thanks for the info - I will bear it in mind. :D

Answer 32

Anatomy & Physiology, Immunology, Pharmacology. These are definitly my top 3.