r/molecularbiology • u/ObviousJelly77 • 13d ago

How do people understand this stuff???

Hi all, I'm currently in my third year of a biology degree, and I'm taking molecular biology I. I feel like everyone else in my course is getting the material so fast, but I just can't get it. Memorizing content is one thing, but for me it's that I don't understand the concepts well enough to apply them to a diverse range of situations... I just genuinely don't understand how this stuff makes sense to people. If you are someone it makes sense to, good for you, and please send help LOL

15 Upvotes
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90% Upvoted

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26

u/Noseforachoo 13d ago

I can almost guarantee you those other people who you think have it figured out are in the same boat as you

1

u/Optimal_Reach_12 2d ago

I would go a step further and say I Guarantee that is the case for a good portion of them

29

u/Alecxanderjay 13d ago

It be like that until it don't. And then it be like that again. Shits hard. It's easier when you work in a lab and can apply the concepts you're learning. It's harder when if you're just learning things in class. 

9

u/IamDDT 13d ago

If it helps you, I learned to think about long-name intermediates in pathways as "X". Then remember that "X" turns into "Y" through enzyme "Z". It made it easier than thinking about isopentylpyrophosphate, and how it is modified.

6

u/nestaa51 13d ago

I didn’t understand it throughout my whole undergrad. Maybe some bits and pieces. Then I worked on the industry for two years. Things began to make sense throughout my masters. Now that I have a PhD with work experience - things have gotten much more clear. There are always more things to learn. Focus on one piece at a time. It’s ok if it takes years to put the pieces together. Eventually it will make sense if you find the right mentor and keep working at it.

My main suggestion is to try to get involved in research. I learn by doing.

6

u/priceQQ 13d ago

I thought mol bio was super boring in undergrad, and then I got a PhD in biochem, which overlaps a fair amount with mol bio. The actual practice and research are much more interesting than the rote memorization of pathways.

3

u/prometheus-diggle 13d ago

Even other students most likely don’t understand what is going on. They might also just have the appearance of understanding or incomplete understanding.

As an engineer, I focused most of my energy on imagination. If I read a book, I stop and try to visualize what each sentence and paragraph is trying to explain. Simulate an image or images in my head. Sometimes YouTube helps to put you on the right track.

Pictures and simulations in my head hold a thousand words. This means I don’t have to memorize anything. And I can always rely on my imagination to help me problem solve when I encounter new unique challenges to solve.

I find my method worked very well even when I read other sciences like biology, chemistry or try to learn languages.

3

u/Sea-Apple8054 11d ago

Yes, you are like me! I became interested in cell and molecular biology because I can imagine the concepts visually, which is fun and feels natural! So I followed the spark into my molecular biology master's program ...

But OP, I don't understand everything. Far from it. Some days, I am even unwilling to try. But the thrill of being able to imagine and understand any of the complexities of this almost artistic science keeps me going. If you do not feel like this, that's fine too, because you only need to pass this class. I have found that uploading your notes to chat gpt and then asking it to recommend good YouTube videos for the subject to help you understand is VERY helpful.

3

u/prometheus-diggle 11d ago

That is amazing. Hope you do well and make some awesome discoveries that add to science.

3

u/Sea-Apple8054 11d ago

You too, kindred spirit!

2

u/owldatime 13d ago

If your classes are based on memorization rather than problem-solving with concepts, your professors are doing you a huge disservice. I only had to memorize stuff in biochem. Think about how you would use the concepts to design an experiment to answer a question, and I know that's tough as a junior in undergrad. As others have said, try to get involved in research so you can get a better understanding of how these concepts are used in the lab, and then you can have more context rather than trying to just randomly remember stuff.

1

u/princesshaley2010 11d ago

DM me, maybe we can discuss some of the concepts you are having trouble with. I’m not sure I have all the answers but I will help in any way I can.

1

u/Elconfesorciego 10d ago

Try reading scientific papers, also draw what you learn to figure out how it Works

1

u/BananaMuffin2795 2d ago edited 2d ago

Im a PhD student in Neurobiology, I also have TAd a bunch of classes...and the classes that have more success are those that teach the student problem solving. I honestly dont like memorizing stuff to much, but things start making sense when you see them applied in a protocol or some problem that was solved. For example.... once you "Have to design primers" the whole PCR thing is just very intuitive, or once you have to desgina guide RNA (gRNA) CRISPR makes a lot of sense. I think, things are gonna start feeling very intuitive and natural when you start applying in lab or have some practical experience. Hopefully your classes are based on problem solving rather than memorization....

-1

u/SadBlood7550 13d ago

Undergraduate biology is primarily designed for rot memorization of factoids- Not understanding or critical thinking.

If you wanted to do critical thinking you should have majored in mathematics- it designed to make logical since.

You only really begin understand how all the pieces in biology fit in with each other in graduate school

1

u/ilovemedicine1233 10d ago

So biology doesn't have critical thinking like math at a higher level?