Cell and molecular biology on the steps

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I know several people complained that there were an increasing number of molecular bio questions on the boards, but I was wondering exactly how many? There's only 20 molecular bio questions in Kaplan Qbank out of a total of 2200 Q's, that's pretty low yield if you ask me, they are also ridiculously hard. I was thinking of reading through HY molecular bio, but that's going to take an entire day, and at this point of the ball game (3 weeks left) I really don't know if it's worth spending that time.

So what do you guys think, high yield or low yield?

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I know several people complained that there were an increasing number of molecular bio questions on the boards, but I was wondering exactly how many? There's only 20 molecular bio questions in Kaplan Qbank out of a total of 2200 Q's, that's pretty low yield if you ask me, they are also ridiculously hard. I was thinking of reading through HY molecular bio, but that's going to take an entire day, and at this point of the ball game (3 weeks left) I really don't know if it's worth spending that time.

So what do you guys think, high yield or low yield?

High yield, but more basic stuff than they teach in courses (at least at my school). Just as a point of clarification - try not to ask "exactly how many", because it doesn't matter, people don't recall accurately, and there's probably a lot of variability from test to test. "Is this high-yield or low-yield" is a good question though.
 
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Look over it in kaplan if you want to skip out on HY cell & molec, it shouldn't take long. It goes hand in hand with genetics as well so you're knocking out two for the time of one.

I reviewed my kaplan notes, and have to say that the kaplan Qbank questions requires so much more depth than the notes, let alone the HY molecular bio ones. Anyway, I can't spare anymore time on this subject, so I just studied in depth the concepts of whole 20 questions they got and call it a day. Perhaps I get 1 more chance to review this the last 2 weeks.
 
I'd read thru the 1999 HY Cell and Molec Bio book -- it's pretty short and to the point, and you never know, even if you only get 10 Qs, 10 Qs is 10 Qs, and could help you score what you need. Plus if you have 3 weeks, just spend a day reading it probably won't hurt too much, but who knows.
 
I remember having some pretty tricky metabolic biochem questions, as well as a couple VERY esoteric immunology/cell biology questions. Knowing your pathways is important, but what is more important is knowing the signs, symptoms, and lab abnormalities of a deficiency in an enzyme, vitamin, etc.
I read all of Lippincott Biochem (lots of good clinical correlates in there) as well as HY CMB while preparing for Step 1, and I think it really helped. But it was a lot of work, and might not be worth your time if you are comfortable with the material and have other subjects that need attention.
 
I'd read thru the 1999 HY Cell and Molec Bio book -- it's pretty short and to the point, and you never know, even if you only get 10 Qs, 10 Qs is 10 Qs, and could help you score what you need. Plus if you have 3 weeks, just spend a day reading it probably won't hurt too much, but who knows.

1999 HY Mol Bio was a solid choice. I had ~10-20 questions, and this book was spot on.
It's short, and I read it in 2 sittings.

Good luck!
 
1999 HY Mol Bio was a solid choice. I had ~10-20 questions, and this book was spot on.
It's short, and I read it in 2 sittings.

I was wondering why there isn't a specific section on molecular biology in First Aid. So I asked a 3rd year student, and she said:

"There are no real Molecular biology questions on the test. I didnt have any questions asking about hox, LMN1 etc."

I'm confused. Is Molecular Biology being phased out of Step 1?
 
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I was wondering why there isn't a specific section on molecular biology in First Aid. So I asked a 3rd year student, and she said:

"There are no real Molecular biology questions on the test. I didnt have any questions asking about hox, LMN1 etc."

I'm confused. Is Molecular Biology being phased out of Step 1?

First off - one student's experience is in no way representative of the entirety of Step I examinations, so take anything that one student alone says with a grain of salt. Some tests are _____ heavy, some students have selective memory, etc.

Second, I had a noticably substantial chunk of molecular bio questions. Not stuff about hox & LMN1 (that's too detailed), but definitely DNA replication, tRNA structure, protein synthesis, etc. Stuff like that, more relevant stuff.
 
Is HY 1999 really enough? I've read that it is but from those who have taken the exam recently would you recommend anything else? Lastly was there an errata page for HY 1999, just read some posts saying there were quite a few mistakes in it. Thanks everyone!
 
Is HY 1999 really enough? I've read that it is but from those who have taken the exam recently would you recommend anything else? Lastly was there an errata page for HY 1999, just read some posts saying there were quite a few mistakes in it. Thanks everyone!
I'd like to know how to acquire HY 1999 without spending a fortune. It seems to be going for upwards of $100 on amazon, ebay, etc, which I am not going to pay for a review book. Everyone says to use it, but where are they getting it from?
 
My test probably had like 5 questions per block of "molecular biology". Most of this stuff was so off the wall that you couldn't possibly have studied for it. It's more so of an educated guess, really. Honestly though, I would know your basics-cell biology, DNA replication.translation,transcription, mitosis, etc etc etc. Know those extremely well, that's all you can do for those questions. I honestly think that reading HY cell and mol bio is a waste of your time. spend time on goljan that is so much more high yield. know the above and i think u will be prepared for the molecular bio most of the bizzare molecular bio questions are probably experimental anyway since the are so eccentric in nature.
 
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My test probably had like 5 questions per block of "molecular biology". Most of this stuff was so off the wall that you couldn't possibly have studied for it. It's more so of an educated guess, really. Honestly though, I would know your basics-cell biology, DNA replication.translation,transcription, mitosis, etc etc etc. Know those extremely well, that's all you can do for those questions. I honestly think that reading HY cell and mol bio is a waste of your time. spend time on goljan that is so much more high yield. know the above and i think u will be prepared for the molecular bio most of the bizzare molecular bio questions are probably experimental anyway since the are so eccentric in nature.

Are you talking about Goljan RR Path or Goljan RR Biochem?

I'm reading his Path book, but I'm still debating which biochem book I should use--Lipincott's or Goljan RR Path. Anyone have any opinions on these?
I'm also reading HY Cell and MolecBio. I also noticed HY publishes a Genetics book..anyone have any experience with this?

Also, how much do these books overlap? Sorry for the questions, just wondering out loud..
 
I'd like to know how to acquire HY 1999 without spending a fortune. It seems to be going for upwards of $100 on amazon, ebay, etc, which I am not going to pay for a review book. Everyone says to use it, but where are they getting it from?

You know, honestly I think this whole 1999 thing is a little ridiculous. A lot of the added content in the second edition is new chapters, which you can just ignore if you want, and anyway the whole 2nd edition is not that long and a pretty fast read.
 
I've used goljan's biochem book and liked it, It brought a lot of concepts together and tied them in, took me a little longer than I'd like to admit so don't put it off too much

don't have an opnion on lippincott's but heard its long
 
are you seriously expected to know all the chromosomal mutations, i.e. which chromosone they're located on? I mean, I could understand trisomy 21 or something, but there's like a gazillion of these mutations! Anybody know?
 
are you seriously expected to know all the chromosomal mutations, i.e. which chromosone they're located on? I mean, I could understand trisomy 21 or something, but there's like a gazillion of these mutations! Anybody know?

None of my questions had anything to do with chromosomes. They were all theoretical questions that tests concepts and how quickly you can apply what they give you. Memorizing rare chromosome numbers would be one of the last things you should do.
 
^^ Can you post an example of what you mean by "applying concepts" to a chromosome question?


Thanks.
 
You really need to know biochem pathways? I thought it was just to focus on key enzymes and what can go wrong with them. So, Lippencotts > RR biochem? USMLE stressing is funny; and a great short-term hobby!
 
Sorry if this has been asked before - But I bought the 2006 edition before I heard the 1999 edition was 'better'...Anythin specific I can leave out, or is it worth reading through all of it?

And I get the idea most of the Step 1 questions are related to path in some way or another and not 'straight' embryo/biochem/etc questions - is this true?
 
Got my score back today. Apparently I did well in biochem (though I'm not sure if molecular bio is included in that category) even though I thought I failed the molecular bio questions.

In the end, I think they are experimental and that you shouldn't spend too much time (more than 1 day) reviewing that particular subject.

Good luck everyone :)
 
Sorry for my ignorance but I'm sort of confused. Please help me clarify my concept.
I am preparing for USMLE 1. I did histology from Kaplan anatomy lecture notes. I will be doing biochemistry and genetics from Kaplan biochem lecture notes. Now where does cell & molecular biology fit? Is it included in histology or biochemistry & genetics or do I have to do it separately form some book like HY cell and molecular biology? Actually its not taught specially as a subject in our place so I don't know anything about it. Thanx in advance
 
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I'd like to know how to acquire HY 1999 without spending a fortune. It seems to be going for upwards of $100 on amazon, ebay, etc, which I am not going to pay for a review book. Everyone says to use it, but where are they getting it from?

whaaa? That's crazy. Who the heck would pay that much for a book that covers such a small part of the exam? I gave away my copy to a 2nd year...hehe. oops.
 
I'm reading Kaplan biochem right now, and the beginning few chapters cover most of molec bio basics i.e. details of DNA replication, transcription, RNA translation, the various techniques associated (Souther blot, etc etc). There's a few pharm and path correlates here and there.

Is this what everyone means by molec bio on Step 1? Or are am I missing some higher level of detail? If so, I don't mind picking up HY CMB, but would rather not if what I'm currently reading is enough.
 
I'd like to know how to acquire HY 1999 without spending a fortune. It seems to be going for upwards of $100 on amazon, ebay, etc, which I am not going to pay for a review book. Everyone says to use it, but where are they getting it from?

You can grab the 2006 edition (which I have) for like $16/$17 or get the 1999 version for +/- $70 on BN...not that it's worth $70...

Or just get the ebook, if you don't mind reading on-screen (suppose you can print it)...google "High Yield Molecular Biology ebook" (without the quotation marks) and see what you find...

Hope that helps
 
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