What is the difference between Computational Biology & Bioinformatics?

Should I do a concentration in Cell Biology and Biotechnology?

• I am a 3rd year college student, currently pursuing a BS in General Biology. BUT my school does offer a concentration in Cell Biology and Biotechnology (together, not separate concentrations). I have already took Cell bio and microbiology, just have to take organic chems and biochem. Other than that, the ONLY difference in the two degrees are I have to take Biotechnology,Bioinformatics & bioinformatics lab to finish the "concentration". I would have to take ecology,botany,and mycology for my gen. bio track (and cell bio interests me more than plants and fungi!) Should I do it? Will it help me in the future for my plans to go to med school(P.A school),and become a P.A or any med job? Is it worth the 3 extra classes? SOME WISE GUIDANCE WOULD BE APPRECIATED!! registration for me starts next week! thanks in advance I can't rate, but that greatly helped! The prob is I love both! Biochem and organic are required for both a gen.bio track and the cell/biotech track, so i'm going to have to take them regardless. And my goals are to work with people, in a hospital or clinic environment, not stuck doing research for the rest of my life! that's what im trying to avoid, but I feel as though if I did do the biotech track, it would prepare me really well for med school (assuming I'm also going to take virology,immunology, A&p.etc) is biotech/bioinformatics a hard class? because you did mention the "easy A's for botony and ecology lol

• Answer:

  It mostly depends on what you are most interested in doing for a career. Pursuing cell biology and biotechnology will prepare you for a rewarding career in a research lab, or in the lab in a hospital where blood test/tumor biopsy/etc are performed. However, if you plan to be a physician's assistant (I believe that's what PA stands for?), it will not be very helpful for your career. It will be very interesting, but not necessary for your job. Do not underestimate how difficult organic chemistry and biochemistry can be. If you are not fascinated by the cellular world and the way that cells function separately and together in the body, the classes will be very hard for you. They're hard for everyone, but people who are very interested have an easier time understanding the complex concepts. Don't let this discourage you, though! If you're interested, put the time and effort into the classes and you'll learn a whole new world of science. Your grades and letters of recommendation are more important for getting into med school than the title of your major. It looks a little flashier to say you majored in Cell Biology, but if you do poorly in the organic chem classes, it will hurt your chances more than it will help. The long and short of it is, if you want to work in a lab, either in a hospital or in research, go for the Cell Biology and Biotechnology. It'll be hard, but it's awesome. However, if your goal is to work with people, then you may do better just suffering through the boring ecology/botany stuff (but make sure you get those easy A's!) and try to find an internship or other program to put your extra effort into. ADDITIONAL RESPONSE: When I mentioned 'easy A's', I was thinking that you wouldn't be required to take the organic chem and biochem unless you did the Cell Biology major, which are both pretty hard classes. Biotech and bioinformatics are going to teach you laboratory techniques. They're not very difficult, and are classes that I found incredibly interesting. It is probably going to be a lot of lab work/lab report writing, though. Since those are the only extra classes that you have to take, if you're interested in the way that cells work and the way that genetic expression affects everything that a cell does, I'd recommend taking the classes. It's WAAAAY more interesting than ecology and botany (in my opinion), and it will absolutely help to give you a fantastic knowledge background for med school. Understanding more about the way the cells work, and how the lab tests you will be ordering for patients are performed and exactly what they mean, will help to make you a better informed and more confident doctor. It will also make you more well-rounded when looking for jobs. Employers will appreciate that you have a basic knowledge of biotech and bioinformatics procedures.