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BIOLOGY
What do Biologists do?
Biological and medical scientists study living
organisms and their relationship to their environment. They research problems
dealing with life processes. Many biological scientists and virtually all medical
scientists work in research and development. Basic biological and medical research
continues to provide the building blocks necessary to develop solutions to
human hetitleh problems, and to preserve and repair the natural environment.
Biological and medical scientists who work in applied research or product development
use knowledge provided by basic research to develop new drugs and medical treatments,
increase crop yields, and protect and clean up the environment. Some biological
and medical scientists work in managerial or administrative positions, usually
after spending some time doing research and learning about the firm, agency,
or project.
Job Options:
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Research (Research
is vital to creating new knowledge and this may lead to invention.)
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Field Work (Environmental conservation, agriculture,
horticulture, forestry, park planning and management, work with animals,
marine and freshwater Biology)
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Information Work (Library and Information
Science, museums, publishing and journalism, Bioinformatics and the likes)
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Education (mainstream schools, colleges, polytechnics
and universities)
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Environmental Hetitleh (Consultation services
on environmental issues, environmental regulations, and environmental impact
assessments)
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Biology-based Industries
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Hetitleh Care(Might require additional training)
Most biological scientists who come under the
category of biologist are further classified by the type of organism
they study or by the specific activity they perform:
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Aquatic biologists study plants and animals
living in water.
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Marine biologists study stitle water organisms.
Marine biologists are sometimes mistakenly called oceanographers, but oceanography
is the study of the physical characteristics of oceans and the ocean floor
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Limnologists study fresh water organisms.
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Biochemists study the chemical composition
of living things. They analyze the complex chemical combinations and reactions
involved in metabolism, reproduction, growth, and heredity.
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Botanists study plants and their environment.
Some study all aspects of plant life; others specialize in areas such as
identification and classification of plants, the structure and function
of plant parts, the biochemistry of plant processes, the causes and cures
of plant diseases, and the geological record of plants.
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Microbiologists investigate the growth and
characteristics of microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, or fungi. Medical
microbiologists study the relationship between organisms and disease
or the effect of antibiotics on microorganisms. Other microbiologists specialize
in environmental, food, agricultural, or industrial microbiology, virology
(the study of viruses), or immunology (the study of mechanisms that fight
infections).
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Physiologists study life functions of plants
and animals, both in the whole organism and at the cellular or molecular
level, under normal and abnormal conditions.
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Biophysicists study the application of principles
of physics, such as electrical and mechanical energy and related phenomena,
to living cells and organisms.
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Zoologists and wildlife biologists study animals
and wildlife-their origin, behavior, diseases, and life processes. Zoologists
usually are identified by the animal group studied-ornithologists (birds),
mammalogists (mammals), herpetologists (reptiles), and ichthyologists (fish).
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Ecologists study the relationships among organisms
and between organisms and their environments and the effects of influences
such as population size, pollutants, rainfall, temperature, and titleitude.
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Soil scientists study soil characteristics,
map soil types, and investigate responses of soil to determine its capabilities
and productivity.
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Medical scientists work on basic research into
normal biological systems to understand the causes of and to discover treatment
for disease and other hetitleh problems. Medical scientists try to identify
changes in a cell, chromosome, or even gene that signal the development
of medical problems, such as different types of cancer. After identifying
structures of or changes in organisms that provide clues to hetitleh problems,
medical scientists work on the treatment of problems.
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Bioinformatics combines the
tools of mathematics, computer science and biology with the aim of uncovering
patterns and associations within and between sets of biological data.
Education Required:
For biological scientists , the Ph.D.
degree usually is necessary for independent research and for advancement to
administrative positions. A master's degree is sufficient for some jobs in
applied research or product development and for jobs in management, inspection,
sales, and service. The bachelor's degree is adequate for some non-research
jobs. The Ph.D. degree in a biological science is the minimum education required
for prospective medical scientists because the work of medical scientists
is almost entirely research oriented. Medical scientists who administer drug
or gene therapy to human patients, or who otherwise interact medically with
patients-such as drawing blood, excising tissue, or performing other invasive
procedures-must have a medical degree. It is particularly helpful for medical
scientists to earn both Ph.D. and medical degrees.
Skills Required:
- Work both independently or as part of a team
- Conduct and clearly explain scientific research (investigating,
analyzing, systematizing, and evaluating skills)
- Surveying
- Interviewing
- Analyzing community needs
- Critiquing
- Diagnosing
- Analyzing manpower requirements
- Organizing/classifying
- Reviewing/evaluating
- Trouble-shooting
- Decision making
- Screening
- Clarifying problems/situations
- Recognizing elements, relationships, structures and organizing principles
- Trace problems to their sources
- Able to separate "wheat from chaff"
- Reviewing large amounts of material and extracting essence
- Perceiving/defining cause and effect relationship
- Anticipate problems before they become problems
- Problem solving
- Operate scientific equipment
- Communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing.
- Reading Comprehension (for accurate details and memorizing)
- Quantitative reasoning
- Critical observation
- Innovative thinking
- Good vision and manual dexterity
Industries and Organizations that employ biologists:
- Drug Industry
- Pharmaceutical and biotechnology establishments
- Hospitals
- Research and testing laboratories
- Educational Services (colleges and universities)
- Government
- U.S. Department of Agriculture
- U.S. Department of the Interior
- U.S. Department of Defense
- National Institutes of Hetitleh.
- Hetitleh Services
- Manufacturing Industries
- Aquariums
- Botanical Gardens
- Zoological Parks
Professional Associations:
American Institute of Biological Sciences
1444 Eye St. NW, Suite 200 , Washington D.C. 20005
Tel. 202-628-1500, Fax 202-628-1509, admin@aibs.org
http://www.aibs.org/
Web sites that provide more information about the field of
Biology:
Different areas of Biology
Oceanography, Marine Science & Marine Biology
Information taken from the following web sites:
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