Some questions for biochemists.

I'm thinking of doing a degree in biochemistry.
And I was hoping some people who are doing biochem could answer some questions I have.

I wanted to know how much lab work you do? And what kind of practicals are they? Do they include animal testing type practicals?

I'm not very good at practicals, do you think this would be a problem?

And this is completely random because I just thought of it. But are cells flat like when you see through a microscope? Or do they have a 3D type structure?

Thank you to anyone who answers :smile:

Reply 1

SakuraBlossom

Ok, so first of all, Biochemistry courses vary greatly from uni to uni, so this may not be the case for other courses. At York, I have an 8-hour long Chemistry practical every two weeks and about 4-5 hours of practical work in Biology every week. In chemistry we mostly have to synthesize stuff (aspirin, paracetamol etc. ) and in Biology, it depends on what module the practical is in.

In Microbiology we have to use certain techniques in order to observe stuff under a microscope or make bacterial cultures, see how antibiotics affect said cultures etc. I've only had one Genetics practical so far and what we did was observe meiosis and mitosis under a microscope and take notes (how many chromosomes it had, phases etc.). In Molecular Biology and Biochemistry so far we've done practicals involving chromatography, separation of certain substances and so on. We don't really do anything that involves animals or dissections.

I hadn't done a practical in my life before I came to uni, but I've found that it didn't really put me at a disadvantage. At my uni the first year doesn't count towards the final grade and you pass provided you get 40%. This year is all about bringing everyone to the same level. So even if you aren't that good at practicals, you will be able to catch up during Term 1.

Cells look flat under the microscope, though I have seen a spherical cell that seemed to be rolling like a ball once :wink: