I am a Bio 1 student and want to go further in Bio, but I need to immerse myself into it to overload myself with information to interest me. I'm looking for a site where I can see the newest lab equipment, and what is new in science.

Where do I go?

OmniEulogy

Canada6600 Posts

January 29 2013 01:11 GMT

Are there any clubs / groups at your school? I'd start there. Ask your prof's or some of the TA's. Somebody should be connected to a network if you ask.

SlayerS_BoxxY

United States64 Posts

January 29 2013 01:19 GMT

No... but that is a really interesting idea. Very few resources exist online for someone just STARTING to get into any particular science.

Scientific American is a good magazine. There are often articles in it featuring the latest research findings/techniques, and these articles tend to be quite accessible to a general audience, though not dumbed down like you would find in most newspapers.

If you are feeling brave, you could check out some primary research papers (though these can be very dense). F1000.com is a cool site that ranks papers based on post-publication peer review, so you can search for the top papers in any specific field and read the comments from reviewers.

micronesia

United States24782 Posts

January 29 2013 01:37 GMT

One thing you could do is go on to freenode on IRC and read the conversations in #biology

Coagulation

United States9633 Posts

January 29 2013 01:38 GMT

I PM lemonwalrus for all biology related inquires.

Iranon

United States983 Posts

January 29 2013 03:18 GMT

I can't say for sure, but for specific questions I bet http://biology.stackexchange.com/ is good. I'm a math guy and the math stack exchange is a very good resource. (It's not a forum like TL, it's a Q&A site generally made up of experts in the field with free time.

Iranon

United States983 Posts

January 29 2013 03:18 GMT

Edit: double post, silly iOS app.

Carnivorous Sheep

Baa?21245 Posts

January 29 2013 03:51 GMT

I don't understand this request.

To understand the latest in bio news, you'll need a very very strong grasp of fundamental biology.

Sitting down with a biology textbook will do more to "immerse" you than any website...

Eventine

United States307 Posts

January 29 2013 03:55 GMT

I can understand. The textbook doesn't communicate back. When I was studying chemistry, it was quite helpful to have friends who can help you understand material. You can't just use a book for that.

Paul2288

United States18 Posts

January 29 2013 04:00 GMT

#10

My teacher told us that everything we will cover in class lectures will be what is on the test. That we could return the book, my lab teacher said to return the notebook,, so I did both to save money. I only have the lecture notes that I have access to online.

farvacola

United States18866 Posts

January 29 2013 04:20 GMT

#11

Talk to your fellow students, find peers to bounce ideas off of, and make sure that you do not hesitate to pester the teacher with (good) questions; this is after having read the material mind you.

UltimateHurl

Ireland591 Posts

January 29 2013 10:19 GMT

#12

My first thought was of a community full of the latest biology news that included forums full of people discussing "Human biology: imba?"

Honestly I think a good textbook would be your best bet.

Dr.Sin

Canada1126 Posts

January 29 2013 13:37 GMT

#13

Try to do some undergraduate research within your university. Look at the faculty in your department and send emails to professors. Find a lab where you like the people and they do things that you find exciting. Get yourself involved in the discussions people will have in the lab, at lab meetings and journal clubs, even if its over your head for the first 3-6 months. It is perfectly normal. The most important thing is for you to be passionate/motivated.

Zaranth

United States345 Posts

January 29 2013 15:06 GMT

#14

If you're looking for the cutting edge of biology, check out the "News" and "Features" sections of the journals Nature and Science (nature.com and sciencemag.org). These are the top-tier journals in science in general, and before you get to the scientific literature and papers, which will be too complicated for you to understand right now, there are usually broad and general articles about science that anyone can read and understand. These journals are published weekly, and if you read them you will keep abreast of the latest science discoveries. You should be able to access them for free through your university.

Dr. Sin has great advice too. Undergraduate research is a great place to get started in biology and to discover if you really love the research side of it.

Good luck with biology, it's pretty sweet stuff! :D

Paul2288

United States18 Posts

January 29 2013 19:58 GMT

#15

I spoke with my Professor, and I'm going for a PhD in NeuroScience. (...

Paul2288

United States18 Posts

January 30 2013 23:23 GMT

#16

I apologize for not looking into the sites above before I post this. To redefine my search,, I'm looking for a place that will show me what is cool in Biology/NeuroScience, with a forum(I guess) and an active community.
I see some new, cool stuff that is posted on a few facebook pages that I follow,, But there isn't enough posted there, and a place where everything is streamlined would be nice.
Thank You for the replies above, there are good ideas and I will visit the websites soon

ZoW

United States3983 Posts

January 31 2013 00:42 GMT

#17

On January 29 2013 12:51 Carnivorous Sheep wrote:
I don't understand this request.

To understand the latest in bio news, you'll need a very very strong grasp of fundamental biology.

Sitting down with a biology textbook will do more to "immerse" you than any website...

pssshhh books? what is this ancient nonsense you speak of?

get with the times grandpa

OliviaRay

United States1 Post

August 04 2015 01:29 GMT

#18

www.biology-online.org is similar to teamliquid.net. It is also a forum, but focuses on the topic of biology.

[UoN]Sentinel

United States11320 Posts

August 04 2015 02:04 GMT

#19

On January 29 2013 19:19 UltimateHurl wrote:
My first thought was of a community full of the latest biology news that included forums full of people discussing "Human biology: imba?"

Honestly I think a good textbook would be your best bet.

bio = ded sienes

First place I'd say is find a club or bio seminar, there should be at least one!

Djzapz

Canada10681 Posts

August 04 2015 04:07 GMT

#20

I intend to run a website about how mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell one day.

Slaughter

United States20255 Posts

August 04 2015 07:34 GMT

#21

I know this might sound weird but maybe there is some sort of facebook group? I know in my field there is a Biological Anthropology news group that has like 10k members and most of them are from people in the field at all levels (mostly grad students and professors). People discuss a lot of research there and other things. I would talk to your biology profs and any grad students for a start to see if they have any place like that (and also as mentioned above getting involved in labs/research is always a plus at the undergrad level).

coverpunch

United States2093 Posts

August 04 2015 13:39 GMT

#22

I think this depends tremendously on whether you want to find a place where you can find lots of opinions or just consume information. If you're just looking for information and some idea of the landscape, then subscribe to get feeds from PubMed, Nature, Science, Cell, etc. Just going through headlines and small blurbs for a few weeks will give you a pretty good idea of what's interesting to scientists out there and where things stand. Just for kicks, you probably should also subscribe to Retraction Watch and lurk on PubPeer to see some stronger opinions and the kinds of disagreements being kicked around.

But realistically, the "community" is mostly IRL for biologists. The community is relatively small in each field and everyone knows the heavy hitters, the rising stars, the disgraces, etc. It's not too hard to get in, all you have to do is participate by attending conferences and seminars, which any research university is all but begging new people to join but usually half-hearted because they know it's boring and they are afraid of attracting cranks. Nobody wants to hear your opinion about God when they're trying to have a discussion on protein structures in mice.

HaRuHi

1220 Posts

August 04 2015 14:41 GMT

#23

http://jem.rupress.org/
http://jcb.rupress.org/
http://jgp.rupress.org/

Maybe take a look at the Rockefeller research journals?

ninazerg

United States7291 Posts

August 04 2015 19:24 GMT

#24

We should have a LiquidBiology.net sister-site.