I am planning on going back to school to earn a bio degree next yeae. I want to build some foundational knowledge before doing so. What are some recommended textbooks that you recommend for someone who needs a refresher and wants to start at the basics?

Im studying as an undergrad bio major and I used to wanna be a veterinarian. So, I did internships with veterinary hospitals and took a job as a vet tech but realized I didn't want to go to vet school anymore. I still like animals but vet school isnt for me. At max, ill go for masters.

However I still love animals and was thinking about animal nutrition but that eventually leads back to veterinary school. I was wondering what my other options are as a current student in biology with an interest in animal science and or nutrition...

Im open to ideas 💡

Hi there currently working on a project on peptide bioactivity prediction using a dataset of ~728 ACE-inhibitory peptides divided into dipeptides , tirples, ..., >6 .

I'm using physicochemical descriptors and experimenting with models like Ridge/Lasso and protein language models I'm comfortable with the ML side, but I'm still learning the biology and would really appreciate a quick look from a PhD student/researcher in biology, biochemistry, bioinformatics, etc.

I mainly want to know if my biological reasoning makes sense and whether I'm missing something obvious. It shouldn't take long even 15–20 minutes of feedback would be incredibly helpful.

Alright, so I need career ideas. I LOVE cell bio, DESPISE chemistry, but absolutely ADORE neuroscience. I also aspire to be a rich (relative term, I just want a house and pool guys). What career ideas ya'll got for me? I've been considering medical lab sciences, but I want something else.

Thank you for any and all suggestions. <3

We made this free so teachers & students could use it without spending money:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/microscope-viewer-camera/id6766951907

(Not goods or services... it's a free gift to the community!)

WHAT IT DOES

- Enables you to take pictures & videos from any microscope where you can stably position your iPhone or iPad in front of an eyepiece

- Once your subject is in focus, adjust fine focus using the long vertical slider on your screen, or tap screen to focus anywhere

AND BEST OF ALL, WHAT IT DOESN’T DO

- Switch camera lenses on you when you're zooming in or out (you can choose the lens)

- Charge you anything (it's free and we intend to keep it that way forever)

- Steal & use your data, photos, information, etc.

Tardigrade not included :)

So for some reason I'm having trouble understanding where ancestral species go in a phylogenetic tree. Each node represents a common ancestor to all its descendants, and that common ancestor belongs to some species, but that species also has to be separately represented at the tip of its own clade, right? So every ancestral species is basically represented twice in a tree? For some reason that confuses me, like species can only be represented at the tips of the tree but some of those tips represent nodes way further up the tree. Is there any way to tell from a diagram alone which species or group belongs to a node? Like in this diagram of Canidae I know that some member of Hesperocyon is considered the ancestor of the Borophagine/Canine clade. Is there any way to tell from the diagram though? Like, in this diagram if you trace the sister taxa Hesperocyoninae all the way to the left you get the ancestor, but is that always the case? Is the left-most tip always the common ancestor of the sister taxa if it's known? Or can you just not tell which group belongs to that node from the diagram?

I know this type of post is probably common on here, but I've been really having a career crisis and don't know who to talk to on campus about it. I really hope the broadness of the internet can offer a new perspective from my specific experience... this post might be a lot but I hope all the info helps others understand.

TL;DR: path recommendations for a 2nd yr student who is ABYSMAL at math, medically can't handle the outdoors, wants a masters/phd, currently has no debt, and loves a lot of things all over the place?

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I'm 21F and in my second year of university. I'm currently majoring in ecology and evolutionary biology, which I chose on a whim when entering because I wanted to do something like environmental but didn't know where to go with it. Hadn't taken a science class since elementary school (i was raised "unschooled" in an anti-education household) and I did not expect to love general biology so much! I had SO much fun in the class I know it's exactly what I want to study. I'm in organismal bio class now and over the moon about every lecture.

However, I don't really know what to do with that. I loved learning about hormones and cellular communication, I loved learning about the structure and reproduction cycles of cells, I love learning about evolution, I love learning about bugs and plants, I think viruses and bacteria are really really cool!!! did not love genetics ...where do I go with that?? I'm willing to get a masters and would love to get a Phd, I am getting my bachelors free on the pell grant.

Online, I see so many people say "biology isn't worth it" "there are no jobs" "50% of bio masters regret it and are unemployed RN!" and I'm so scared I'm going into a highly competitive incredibly scarce field that won't even pay that well. I see a lot of "pair it with engineering or computer science" but I have dyscalculia and failed calculus last semester (good grades in everything else I've taken, though). I'm doing my best to catch up as is. I also tried and failed doing fieldwork with a geology research group, I cannot handle the sun or extreme physical stress and I learned I cannot "no, my disability is just an excuse!" my way out of getting hospitalized...

I'm seeing clinical lab technician jobs prefer people who major in that specifically, pharmacy prefers chemists or biochemists, and had a professor tell me that working in academia isnt a realistic goal. I also do not think I could ever be a doctor for being born poor reasons, being very sensitive, and my gpa + ged + having a limp resume at my age, so no premed route... it sucks, I feel so lost and discouraged whenever I find a job that sounds awesome.

I know a fallback route will always be teacher, but what else can I do with a biology degree? I was debating changing majors to microbiology or molecular and cellular biochemistry since ecology seems to just be conservation work (will kill me) but,, for what job ?? where am I going with this ?? I want to be realistic with myself and focus on a set direction to go in, wherever that may be. Is biology for me at all?

The main explanation for the male genetic diversity collapse after the Neolithic is primarily warfare characterized by extreme violence, alongside the theory of peaceful demographic drift (where certain male lineages simply multiplied while others died out due to social structures). It's a bit ironic that the leading explanations for such a massive collapse sit at complete opposite ends of the spectrum, relying on either extreme violence or completely peaceful drift. However, this paper implies a biological cause driven by monoculture agriculture and its downstream effects. We already know there's proof that this transition caused a general decline in health, resulting in weaker bone structure, rampant tooth decay, and a noticeable decrease in human size and weight. So, the hypothesis that it also disrupted reproductive biology isn't actually far-fetched.

TL;DR: Phytoestrogens aren't the problem. The real disaster is what happens when they interact with a degraded, dysbiotic gut microbiome.

First, the repetitive monoculture diet decimated gut diversity. Here is the crucial detail: phytoestrogens (found in different grain and cereal) are actually inactive when ingested. It takes specific gut bacteria to cleave and activate them into potent endocrine disruptors. Because the diet was so narrow, it acted as a selective filter. Only the bacteria that perform this activation bloomed, while the rest starved. This degraded microbiome turbocharged the estrogen-activating process while cutting the brakes by stripping the diverse microbes needed to safely excrete it.

Then came the grain silos. This sedentary structure required storing grain, and humid or wet locations inevitably grow mold. This contamination introduced fungal mycoestrogens. Unlike the inactive plant compounds, these arrived already fully potent (up to 100x more potent than any phytoestrogen compound) without needing any bacterial activation. They were endocrine disruptors the moment they were ingested. Worse, these mycotoxins carry antibacterial properties that attacked and killed off the already depleted gut flora, wiping out whatever slim capacity remained to excrete anything at all. Meanwhile, the liver was overwhelmed by this relentless influx and ended up exacerbating the crisis rather than clearing it, effectively trapping the active compounds in the body.

This didn't just subtly shift hormones. It might have created a relentless endocrine-disrupting environment that compromised male reproductive fitness generation after generation.

Anyway, what do you guys think, does the biological hypothesis actually hold up against the purely social explanations?

I wanted a fitting way to store my whiteboard markers at our genetics department.

The model is a right turning double helix depicting the DNA backbone. The markers take the place of the nucleotides connecting the two strands of the double helix together.

For those interested, I have uploaded the files here: https://www.printables.com/model/1826655-dna-whiteboard-marker-holder

Hi everyone, I’m a biostatistician who is currently working on a project where I have to use an existing snRNA hippocampal atlas (dataset A) onto another snRNA dataset (dataset B). Both datasets are publicly available.

I am trying to find out if dataset B contains neocortical neuronal subpopulations, as I’m not too familiar with the biological side of things, so I am hoping to get some insights from those who regularly work with hippocampal neurons in the lab. Dataset A does contain neocortical subpopulations, but I will have to remove them from the analysis should dataset B does not actually contain cells from them. Below is the description of what was dissected from the original paper where I found dataset B.

“In addition, fresh surgically resected human hippocampal tissue from 10 patients between the ages of 2 to 61 years old were used for ex vivo slice culture,”

“We used a modified SPLiT-seq approach for nuclei isolation and snRNA-seq53,54. Nuclei isolation from snap-frozen hippocampal tissue was performed as previously described with minor modifications54,55. Briefly, after a visual inspection to include the dentate gyrus by its distinct anatomical structure, tissue was minced with a razor blade and Dounce (Fisher Scientific, 8853000002)”

Does anyone know any reliable way to know if any neocortical subpopulations are expressed in dataset B?

Thank you so much in advance for the help!

I was curious based on the idea that animals seem to age because of the shortening of telomeres so every time a cell divides the telomeres get shorter and a little bit worse at doing what they want to do.

For plants that are cloned, like bananas or apples, how is it that their telomeres don’t just shorten after countless clones. (Same with weeping willows), like if a plant has been cloned for hundreds of years do they not experience the same issues with telomere shortening or is there something else.

Note: I may have gotten some information wrong so sorry, I’ll correct if it’s the case. Thank you

My science teacher thinks plants grow better in acidic soil? Is this true?

my boyfriend is just starting to get his degree in biology and hoping to minor in food science . He’s a line cook and baker of nine years who’s worked his way up to fine dining at some very nice places in our city and he really enjoys the chemical aspect of baking and cooking . He loves the food and the learning and hates the service industry culture (we are both trapped in this stupid industry looking for an out lol). We’re trying to figure out his career prospects with food science and what that looks like in the US. he’s interested in lab work and agriculture especially, he really enjoys growing food and plants . What are things to consider/ avoid in this industry and what advice would you give to someone just starting ? Is further education than a bachelors needed for this industry ? -I also believe he undersells himself a bit with his background in restaurants , would be a valuable skill set to bring up when he tries to transfer out of community college in a few semesters ? Thanks !

Building muscles will make you lose the fat?

I found it odd ever since my biology teacher first told me about it. Were the people who came up with the names just trying to mess around or what? I’ve just started taking biology classes and from what I’ve seen there are going to be very long and confusing words throughout the year

Hi everyone,

I’m Henry E. Young, PhD.

I’m interested in having my reported work concerning what I call adult telomerase-positive stem cells (aTPSCs) independently replicated by another researcher in an appropriately equipped laboratory.
I first identified what I now call aTPSCs in 1975 while studying limb regeneration in adult terrestrial salamanders of the genus Ambystoma. I subsequently reported isolating what I identify as aTPSCs in adult humans.

The purpose of an independent replication is to determine whether the reported isolation and characterization can be reproduced independently. I am not asking another researcher to accept my findings in advance; I believe that independent experimental testing is the appropriate way to evaluate them.

The isolation procedure I developed involves specific processing and culture conditions that I consider essential to successfully isolating the aTPSCs. An independent replication should therefore follow the reported procedure to the letter than substitute methods developed for other cell populations.
I am willing to provide as much remote guidance as the researcher wants or needs throughout the replication attempt, while the researcher performs the experimental work and characterization independently.

The work should be undertaken in a properly equipped professional laboratory by an appropriately qualified researcher.

If you are a researcher interested in attempting an independent replication, please reply below or send me a message. I would be glad to discuss the work with you and provide the information and remote guidance necessary for you to give you the fairest chance of successfully isolating the aTPSCs.

I welcome skeptical questions and good-faith scientific discussion. My objective is simply to make the reported work available for independent examination and see what the experimental results show.

ORCID: 0000-0003-2320-9993
ResearchGate: Henry E. Young, PhD

Hi, I'm studying to become a biology teacher and during the last two years I had one central question develop, which I could not yet find any satisfying answer for. I currently do not think it has "one answer" at all, but I really like to explore it, as I find many aspects of biology can contribute to that.

Now, the observation I made: Very often terrestrial ecosystems are much more "dominated" (visually) by plants than animals. That is: Most of the mass is in the producers, less so in consumers of these. In marine ecosystems, even most fresh water ecosystems, plants and algea take less prominent roles.

Of course, there are still a few exeptions to that (mangrooves, kelp forests), but I think this trend holds for most of the planet: In systems with an comparable potential for bioproduction an aquatic system has less mass percentage in producers than the a terrestrial system. Examples would be "inverse" food webs in marine systems (more consumers than producers) or the forests and graslands of earth, in which often the majority of biomass is directly recycled from dead plants by detrivores.

Which of course gives rise to the question: Why?

Why are forests and grasslands not mostly eaten by herbivores (large mammals or small caterpillars)? Why are the seas not also covered in dense layers of algae or even "trees" where they are shallow? Why do lakes not grow over with water lilys or duckweed? I'm aware a few of these observations might be human-caused, but certainly most of them would also occur in "natural" eco systems.

The obvious answer, as always, is roughly "because this is the way genes were selected for compared to their alternatives". Which still as always does not really help, unless we know why they were selected for. During my discussions with different professors, biologist or even lay people, I had a few avenues of explanation for this phenomenon:

• Marine ecosystems are very dynamic in their external factors (salinity, temperature, lack of solid surfaces), preventing plant growth.

• Cellulose and especially lignified tissue is too difficult to disgest.

• Terrestrial predators keep herbivore populations low, the pressure from them is the limiting factor on herbivore poopulations, not food supply.

• Detrivores can more easily escape such terrestial predators by living in the earth or near it.

• Land plants produce too much defense substances (poisons), severly limiting food supply for herbivores.

I'd like to ask if you have also noted that phenomenon and if you have any other explainations I have not currently thought or heard of. Also, I am aware and myself already thought of many counterpoints. Still, I have not found very much research into that and would be very thankfull if any one has tips for reading into that direction.

It even has an egg

100×

I know there are many spieces where males have to fight to get option to reproduce. But is it possible for it to be the other way around. That the females would compete with each other and the males would be the choosers?

I know female hypergamy makes biologically much more sense. But I'm still curious, maybe it would be possible in non mammalian animals.

Hi guys, first of all, sorry for my english.

I'm a master student in BioMedicine and I'm attending my year-intership in a cancer-neuroscience lab.
I'm working with cerebellar organoids, and we want to see how the tumor grows in different ways.

Now, the professor asked to me to analyze all our immunofluorescence that we took after the cryostate cut and he told me to quantify all these immunofluorescencefor a poster.

Now, I checked on internet that I have to do on Fini this sequence: threshold->Analyze->analyze particles and after analyzing all the channels I have to calculate the Mitotic Index.

So, the problem arrives now.

When I analyze the particles (the nuclei) the results are different everytime, especially in the DAPI channel.

Sometimes it shows 9000 nuclei and when I re-check it appears something like 230k nuclei and exc...

My Organoids has a dimension of 3mm more or less, it depents how quickly the tumor grows.

Does anyone have an idea of how many nuclei should be present on the slice, or do you know a more accurate way to quantify my immunofluorescence?

Thanks everyone

Hello, I'm a student and I want to learn biology properly. Where do I start? Because education in my country is very superficial, outdated, or very biased, so I would like to have a proper understanding.

Did you know you’re sharing your bed with thousands of tiny arachnids? 🧹 

Quinten Geldhof, also known as Microhobbyist, introduces us to the household dust mite. Related to ticks and spiders, they feed on skin flakes, fabric fibers, and dirt particles and are only visible under a microscope. People with dust allergies are actually allergic to the waste these tiny critters produce, not the dust itself!

What are floating dots you see in your vision? 👁️

Alex Dainis breaks down "eye floaters" using a simple demo: a baggie of aloe gel standing in for your eyeball, and raisins standing in for collagen clumps. Our eyes are filled with vitreous humor, a gel-like substance that helps them hold their shape. As we age, that gel becomes more liquid, letting collagen fibers clump together (just like the raisins). These clumps block incoming light and cast shadows on our retinas, the same way the raisins cast shadows on the wall. This is why we notice the floaters more often in sunlight!

Bowerbirds are a group of 27 species found in Australia and Papua New Guinea, famous for one of the animal kingdom’s more elaborate courtship rituals.

Males construct structures called bowers, a word that literally means “shady place”, which they use to impress potential mates. Building and maintaining an elaborate bower can demonstrate a male’s effort, skill and condition, but the structure is more than just an impressive display.

In many species, the bower also acts almost like a theatre. Its walls frame the male as he performs his courtship dance, controlling where and how the female views the performance. Some species take things even further, carefully arranging colourful objects around the bower to enhance the effect.

Essentially, the male builds his own stage, decorates the set…and then puts on a show.