Question

Pick a profession that you might be interested in that demands some knowledge in the life sciences. From the abbreviate course outline provided below, choose the 5 units you think are most important, then explain what you must learn in detail to give you the best academic preparation for your profession. Be sure to relate to specific concepts learned within each unit of your chosen units. Must be at least 500 words.

Animal Physiology; review major animal phyla; vertebrate reproduction, embryology and hormone regulation; circulation, digestion and exchange systems; excretion and kidney nephrons; the vertebrate immune system; neurons and nervous systems

Carbon and the Macromolecules of Living Things; structure and function of carbon, carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, nucleic acids, and enzyme kinetics.  

Ecology; ecosystems, biomes, cycles of materials, communities, succession, populations.  

Cell Structure, Function, and Division; cell theory, structure and function of organelles, membrane transport, cell to cell interactions, mitosis, carcinogenesis.

Respiration and Photosynthesis; ATP, fundamentals of metabolism, energy from nutrients, anaerobic and aerobic respiration, how plants convert solar energy to chemical energy.

Mendelian Genetics; meiosis, laws of heredity, punnett squares, human traits, genetic disorders, chromosomal abnormalities.

Molecular Genetics; DNA function, structure, and replication; RNA transcription and translation; gene regulation; genetic engineering.  

Classification and Evolution; taxonomy, species defined, classic darwinism, mechanisms of evolution, fossil formation and dating, the evolution of self replicating molecules through vertebrates and humans, how species evolve, and a genetic view of evolution.  

Organism Survey (primarily microorganisms); viruses, bacteria, protists, and fungi.

Botany; classification of plants, basic structure and function of tissues, and physiology.

Answer 1

Firstly, i would like to start with saying that there are several professions to choose from as i feel life science is a vast field and there is a lot to learn and experience in it, including Clinical research , Bioinformatics, Project based employment profiles, Scientists etc, but the profession which interests me the most is that of a Research Fellow.

A profession which demands extensive practical and theoretical knowledge of a various concepts of life sciences, Research Fellows are involved in researching and developing new treatments and inventions which are still unknown and needs to be explored. Life science is an ocen and still there are a lot of things which are still unknown.

Before entering this profession, one needs to clear various examinations depending on institutes, which gives them the eligibility to take up the positions of Junior Research Fellows or SRF's based on their competencies, which ascerts them that they have the necessary conceptual knowledge to thrive and perform research in this field.

The most important units among those given in the question, which i feel provides the knowledge of minimum essential basics to be a Research fellow are as follows -

1. Animal Physiology

2. Carbon and the Macromolecules of Living Things

3. Cell Structure, Function, and Division

4. Cell Structure, Function, and Division

5. Molecular Genetics

Animal Physiology serves to be a very important topic in Life sciences and zoology and knowledge of the various systems in animals is very much important as without knowing it, conducting research on their systems is futile. Animals being complex organisms have various classifications based on several parameters of their body organisation and other characteristics, such as Arthropoda, Mammalia, Amphibia, Aves etc, whose knowledge is very important. The systems of their body such as Nervous system - comprising of nerves of the body and neurons of the brain along with reflex actions and their coordination with sense organs such as eye, ear, tongue etc are important ones.

Hormonal system also known as endocrine system and the study of various hormones in our body released from glands such as pancreas, adrenal gland, thyroid , pituitary are important ones and the feedback regulation of these hormones is an important concept to study.

Knowledge of digestive system and digestion using various enzymes like amylase in saliva, in pancreas, small intestine of various components of food etc is necessary along with The knowledge of excretory system,which is mediated by the kidneys and the removal of toxic products such as urea ,creatinine, etc using various mechanisms in proximal and distal convoluted tubules in nephron and henley's loop.

Immune system is also one of the most important system to study and understand as it has applications in various sectors of life sciences including finiding new treatments and drugs. Knowledge of the T and B lymphocytes and their receptors and interactions with MHC class I and II antigens is an important one to understand.

Carbon and the Macromolecules of Living Things - Knowledge of carbon and its role in the formation of biomolecules is a primary concept every researcher should know. Study of all the biomolecules such as carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, nucleic acids and their chemistry along with interactions and functions is very imperative for every research fellow to know as the precursor of all these macromolecules is made of carbon. Apart from these, the knowledge of enzymes is also quite fundamental as they are necessary proteins in our body which are capable of accelerating important chemical reactions, but the study of important properties and knowledge of important enzymes and their catalysis and inhibition criteria is important to understand and visualise.

Cell Structure, Function, and Division - Taking up research and not having adequate knowledge of cells and their various organelles and functions is a tough mistake and not many would like to commit that!.

Cells are a fundamental unit of life which gives rise to we as an individual and other organisms. Knowing about the important cell organelles and their properties eg of plasma membrane, mitochondria, Golgi membrane, ER are a few important ones as they control important functions of or body and synthesise important regulatory proteins. Knowledge of cell cycle, mitosis, meiosis, and important cell cycle checkpoints, cell to cell interactions are other allied topics. Cancer is also a hot topic in today's world especially because of the huge number of deaths caused by this dreadful disease has also attracted the researchers to work upon it and hence its necessary to know the essential elements of carcinogenesis, the important properties of cancer cells and the mutated proteins and genes responsible for the uncontrolled cell division.

Respiration and Photosynthesis - An mportant process responsible for energy production in every organism, every research fellow has to have comprehensive idea on the various forms of respiration and the various processes like Glycolysis, Krebs cycle, PPP and oxidative phosphorylation, which are necessary for utilising oxygen and producing ATP by utilisation of the important biomolecules. Study of glucose and its stereochemistry is extremely important as it is the main energy source for every organism be it however small it is. Respiration and metabolism walk hand in hand and hence knowing about catabolism, anabolism and the various links between them is important enough to proceed in the field of animal biology.

Photosynthesis is one of the most important processes not only for plants but also for life to sustain in this planet. Every research person who wishes to unravel the mysteries of plants should have necessary knowledge about how plants respire as it is quite different from that of animals. Knowledge of various photosystems, chlorophyll and light and dark reactions and their mechanism and linkage is fundamental in plant biology and huge research is going on these days to find out more on the respiration pattern of plants.

Molecular Genetics - Probably the most important topic without which life science is unimaginable and also the most trending topic of research, Molecular biology is very interesting. As we all know that DNA controls the entire life of an individual and is the important hereditary molecule of every organism, hence concepts about DNA, RNA and the various processes leading to their interconversion and necessary properties like replication and repair are necessary for researching about novel drug targets and ligands. Genetic engineering is an allied topic in molecular biology and we should enhance our knowledge and continue researching on the various elements of molecular biology as it will help in finding various new treatments for those diseases which are a curse to mankind.