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Questions tagged [biology]

On standards or conventions specific to biology as an academic discipline, and programs that lead to a degree in this field

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8 votes
3 answers
417 views

What ethical considerations should I be aware of when performing (and publishing) research on live insects?

I have studied different insects for my entire academic career, but I've never had to work with live specimens before. I am considering a project where I will need to capture live dragonflies and look ...
1 vote
1 answer
74 views

Master thesis biochemistry

I am looking for a topic for my master's thesis in the field of biochemistry, but there is a problem, how can I make sure that the topic I have chosen is not repeated? Because there are many sites, ...
0 votes
1 answer
90 views

Bioinformatics career outlook and education question [closed]

I'm currently applying to graduate school PhD program and have a question regarding bioinformatics field. Can a person with Biology PhD degree who works in a lab that is heavily informatics, biostats, ...
0 votes
0 answers
83 views

Research Interview Presentation

I've recently been invited to an interview for an entomology technician/research role. I have been told that "The interview will consist of a 20 min (max) non-confidential presentation covering ...
1 vote
1 answer
282 views

Advice for online PhD interview presentation

I recently applied for an advertised PhD project and I've made it to the interview stage. For the interview I have been asked to prepare a 5-minute presentation explaining (1) why I am interested/...
0 votes
0 answers
68 views

University change (To other lab)

I have a question and would like as much suggestion as possible please. I am in kind of a serious situation. I had applied for PhD program in a good korean university. As I had already studied Korean ...
7 votes
4 answers
2k views

How to move from a physics background to a career in biology research

I have a bachelor's degree in physics and I am finishing my master's degree in applied physics, in the field of biophysics. So, in particular, I study methods typical of physics to investigate ...
-4 votes
2 answers
195 views

File formats in the peer review process (if some do not use office/libreoffice editors)

I was wondering if there are any journals that do not use 'doc' or any other similar file formats in the review process In my experience I have used 'track changes' in some document editor to ...
5 votes
1 answer
2k views

Manuscript rejected for no reason after revision. Elsevier

After submitting to one of the journals in Elsevier recently, we got a response as following: I think the manuscript can be improved and should be resubmitted, but the changes will probably take too ...
0 votes
0 answers
29 views

Poor Grades in CS Masters, Applying for Biology PhD [duplicate]

Thank you for your help in advance. I am considering PhD programs in the biology of aging. I am a 2020 college graduate with a Chemistry BA from a top 25 university in the US. During this time, I ...
-1 votes
1 answer
82 views

Career Planning to optimize for Biomedical Research [closed]

I completed my A-levels with good grades (4.0) and want to work as a biomedical researcher (I am not so certain about the specific field but for now I really like Neuroscience especially Brain-Machine-...
-1 votes
1 answer
144 views

Topics for consideration for someone interested in graduate school [closed]

What are some topics or questions that undergraduates or post-baccalaureates would have when they are considering applying to graduate school, particularly in the fields of biology, ecology, natural ...
10 votes
2 answers
2k views

Has the nature of the biological sciences shifted to cell/molecular biology instead of physical science/biochemistry/enzymology?

I study biochemistry at my university. It seems like most of the younger faculty come from a cell biology / molecular biology background, while older professors seem to come from more of a physical ...
0 votes
0 answers
136 views

How to publish in genetics without access to funding or a lab?

I am currently working in quite new university as lecturer for applied medical science undergrad in genetics subjects. I am facing some issues: The university requires every lecturer do some ...
2 votes
4 answers
681 views

Pursuing a PhD on major of mathematical biology with an irrelevant bachelors degree

I am 29 years old and have majored in political science and obtained a B.A. degree with it. I'm asking this question since I want to ask for some advice about in what case would there be any ...
22 votes
7 answers
5k views

Faux pas to send personal email along with letter of reference?

I'm a new professor and am writing my first letters of recommendation. I have an undergrad student that is truly quite good applying to a summer research program at an institution where I have people ...
0 votes
1 answer
82 views

How do you write a good reaserch paper title?

I'm doing a paper on the medicinal properties of everyday plants but my prof. says that its too broad and I need to narrow it down. I want to start by figuring out a better title that is more ...
6 votes
1 answer
327 views

are there paid graduate school coaches/consultants (Europe)

I'm a master's student. I need to hire a coach/consultant who can advise on academic politics and procedures and knows European or Australian/New Zealand unis and available finances. My google skills ...
2 votes
2 answers
195 views

Which one to choose.... Interests vs Skills? [closed]

I am supposed to choose between mathematics and biology for the next stage of my academic career, i.e. college at undergraduate level. This will broadly classify my local career options into ...
3 votes
2 answers
225 views

Is "bench researcher" a formal / professional term?

I am applying to a computational biology job. I want to make it clear that I am extremely interested in the practical aspects of my work, wet-biology generally, and collaborating with / supporting ...
1 vote
1 answer
112 views

How do graduate admissions committees (in Biology) view BS in Biology completed all online?

I am thinking of getting a post-baccalaureate degree in botany (or biology with plant science concentration) in order to prepare for graduate work in the same field. (My previous work is in sociology ...
8 votes
2 answers
2k views

How can I transition into genome editing after a theoretical physics PhD?

I had a very bad PhD experience which has led to complete loss of motivation to pursue a career in theoretical physics. I don't have the motivation anymore to work on topics which are very abstract ...
24 votes
4 answers
5k views

Is it appropriate for peer-reviewer to look for possible plagiarism?

I'm in the second year of a post-doc, and currently participating in my first experience as a peer-reviewer (my lab PI recommended me to the editor because he's too busy to do it right now). I noticed ...
1 vote
1 answer
122 views

Redundant academic recommendation letter vs. a professional one?

I am applying for a PhD in tumor biology in the United States. Most institutions require 3 letters of recommendation. I currently work at a lab doing cancer research where I have two PIs as my bosses. ...
1 vote
0 answers
197 views

I want to study human brain and consciousness. Should i study neuroscience or neuro-physics? [closed]

I am a high school student and my dream is to study about human brain and consciousness. Which subject should I study in university, neuroscience or neuro-physics (which is a branch of biophysics)?
0 votes
1 answer
248 views

3 Letters of Recommendation for Bio Grad School [duplicate]

I'm a rising senior in college and I'm looking into grad programs in biology. For the Letter of Recommendation requirement I have found that usually 3 are required. Currently I can only think of 2 ...
2 votes
2 answers
467 views

Mistakes post publication

I just discovered some mistake after the online publication? There are two mistakes- instead of figure S4A (supplementary figure), it says Figure S3A at two places. It's very embarrassing, should I ...
0 votes
0 answers
323 views

Changing fields from Mathematics to Biology/Chemistry

I’m currently in my penultimate year of an undergraduate degree in mathematics. I’ve been thinking about changing fields completely. I love maths, so I intend to graduate with this degree and I’m ...
2 votes
1 answer
224 views

PhD transfer during first year [closed]

This year I was accepted into two PhD programs (USC and WashU). I had a very specific research interest, and the USC program used to be my first choice, because there were so many professors in the ...
2 votes
1 answer
447 views

Transitioning from bioinformatics to wet lab?

I had a very bad PhD experience in developmental biology. My project was supposed to be wet lab and it was, but I didn't learn a lot of techniques. At the end I got into bioinformatics and, because my ...
-3 votes
1 answer
255 views

IT, life sciences and self-hate [closed]

To give you some background: I spent 4 years getting a PhD in a second-tier university in Europe, struggling heavily with no input, mentorship or encouragement from the PI. Then I did 3 year of ...
2 votes
2 answers
562 views

Confused about masters project

I am an integrated master student doing a rather short project of only 4months in the lab (due to covid). The project is quite a weird one as it either works or it doesn't and if it doesn't I have no ...
2 votes
1 answer
117 views

How important is it to cite the earliest report of something?

As a general rule I try to put in some due diligence to cite the authors who first provided strong evidence of something that I'm referencing, even if I wasn't aware of their work before I started ...
4 votes
2 answers
500 views

My supervisor is putting my name on a paper I disagree with. What will happen if it is found to be wrong?

My supervisor is publishing a paper and naming me as the first author. I did the data analysis for the paper but part of the interpretation in the paper I regard as wrong. I argued with him but he ...
22 votes
9 answers
6k views

Can I become a tenure-track prof in one dept (biology) and teach in a different dept (math) with only one PhD?

I recently defended my PhD in Neuroscience and am starting a postdoc soon. Like a lot of people who take this track, I hope to one day have my own research lab at a university. I would also like to ...
2 votes
1 answer
2k views

PhD in Biology: how time consuming?

I am currently pursuing my master's in bio-medicine. I am taking classes, doing research, and working as a graduate assistant at the same time. So far it has turned out to be very time consuming. I ...
8 votes
3 answers
242 views

Independent research after grad school while holding a somehow unrelated career. What are the potential caveats or problems?

I recently graduated from a master's degree while working on an interesting but niche intersection of machine learning and biology. This area is of my personal interest and I believe it can impact the ...
0 votes
2 answers
252 views

Getting into a PhD program with a low gpa but good profile [duplicate]

I am going to apply to few PhD programs in Microbiology (I'm particularly very interested in Microbial ecology) but I'm afraid my undergrad gpa (8.5/10 for the first 6 semester as I'm currently in my ...
5 votes
5 answers
4k views

How to transition from pure biology PhD to bioinformatics/biostatistics?

I've been working as a PhD student in biology and currently in my last year. However I realised just a year into my PhD that I hated doing experiments, I really hated it. I think one of the reasons ...
3 votes
1 answer
279 views

How can I accredit my Russian kandidat nauk in biology to PhD in USA?

I have a kandidat nauk in biology from Russia, and as I know it's equivalent to a PhD degree outside post-Soviet countries. My question is what do I need to do to accredit my degree in the USA? Which ...
22 votes
4 answers
5k views

Is an invitation to 'chat' about a potential PhD position actually an interview? What am I to expect?

I've been invited for a chat for a potential PhD position by a professor I'm interested in working with. He also wants me to give a short presentation on some experiments I've done in the past that I'...
1 vote
2 answers
318 views

Germany undergrad: is it possible to switch from medicine to biology?

My niece in Germany is applying for undergrad colleges, at this point she likes medicine and biology both. But she is not sure if she wants to end up being a doctor or a molecular biology researcher. ...
1 vote
1 answer
712 views

Finishing with only 2 papers (both co-authorship)

So, I am about to gain my PhD degree in Biochemistry (Cancer biochemistry) in december. But I'll have finished it only with 2 papers (3rd one, which is the one totally about my thesis project is due ...
1 vote
0 answers
119 views

Can there be context rich problems in Biology?

Context-rich problems are short realistic scenarios giving students a plausible motivation for solving the problem. As we search research literature, one can see lots of research in context rich ...
8 votes
2 answers
688 views

Effect of bland cover letter for journal submission in biology

I'm not used to writing covering letters for journal submissions, and I believe this is pretty standard in maths. However, I got into a conversation with a friend in biology, who said they expect to ...
-1 votes
1 answer
190 views

Is peer review process totally theoretical?

Does the peer review process involve only theoretical analysis or it contains some practical components?
1 vote
2 answers
325 views

How to position myself to transition from doing wet lab research to doing computational work? [closed]

I am in the first quarter of the second year of my PhD. I learned to code as a hobby and have been quite passionate about analytical stuff. I got taken for a PhD basic research project which required ...
5 votes
3 answers
334 views

In biology papers, is it standard to to list names of people who contributed to code tools, but did nothing else towards a paper?

A while ago, I spent some time working for a lab doing biology research. While I was there, my main job was to write code to automatically perform specific kinds of analysis on the collected data, ...
0 votes
1 answer
87 views

How important is having research experience in the same department you are applying for?

I have a B.S. in math from the United States and am returning to school in the US for a second B.S. in microbiology because: 1) I have no research experience; 2) I have no excellent LORs as a result ...
0 votes
4 answers
451 views

How does the teaching of biology differ from teaching physics? [closed]

Respected teachers, I have this question for quite some time and I need your ideas. When we teach physics we can have a lot of brainstorming sessions and adopt the "scientific method" ( ...