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i was lookin over requirments of some schools and some had cell bio and others had molecular bio. onli cell bio is offered at my school so are they the same thing?
is cell bio the same as molecular bio
- Thread starter jaybird
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I believe that cell biology focuses on physiological properties of cells while molecular biology focuses on studying cells at molecular level in broder perspective.
In most cases, no, they are not the same.
Cell biology is mostly related to cell-cell interactions, channel-directed ion balance, and things outside the cell having an effect on the cell itself, etc.
Molecular biology is mostly genetics, epigenetic events, protein-protein (or protein-DNA, protein-RNA) interactions, mostly within the cell.
That being said, some schools may have a different definition. These are just the most common and widely used.
Cell biology is mostly related to cell-cell interactions, channel-directed ion balance, and things outside the cell having an effect on the cell itself, etc.
Molecular biology is mostly genetics, epigenetic events, protein-protein (or protein-DNA, protein-RNA) interactions, mostly within the cell.
That being said, some schools may have a different definition. These are just the most common and widely used.
Yeah they are....
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it's a sarcasm
Oh, may want to add some hint of sarcasm into it, then, hah. Kind of hard to tell you're kidding, considering there are people out there who would say the exact same thing and mean it...
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yeah because cells are made up of twinkies right?
No need to be snippy. Just pointing out that I didn't take what you said as sarcasm because there are some people on here who would not surprise me if they wrote that.
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Guys, everyone knows that cells are the basic units of life, not molecules, there's a difference. Cells are not "made up" of anything, because, since they are the fundamental unit of life, they are indivisible. Seriously, take a basic bio class.
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Hehe, see, that was good use of sarcasm
I agree. I'm laughing out loud.
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Yep, that sounds like cell bio at my school.
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at my school they call it Molecular Cell Biology
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ha! looks like you will not be going to medical school!
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from Keck (which requires molecular bio):
Required Courses
everyone is being too nitpicky i think. OPs cell bio is fine.
Required Courses
- General Biology + Lab 2 semesters/ 3 quarters
- General Chemistry + Lab 2 semesters/ 3 quarters
- Organic Chemistry + Lab 1 semester/ 2 quarters
- Physics + Lab 2 semesters/ 3 quarters
- Biochemistry 1 semester/ 1 quarter
- Molecular Biology* 1 course
- Social Sciences, Humanities, and English Composition 30 semester hours
- * Molecular Biology requirement met by following courses: molecular genetics, cell and molecular biology, advanced cell biology or the equivalent
everyone is being too nitpicky i think. OPs cell bio is fine.
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Molecular biology and cell biology are separate at my school. Both are required for my major (biology with emphasis in pre-health prep).
C
collegefootball
If the school does what they should do correctly, then the two courses would not be tought as the same subject. If the school does teach them together, it could mean the professors and administrators don't know what they are doing, or they are short on staff or don't have enough funding to teach both courses...so they combine them together.
Anyone who is a junior or senior in college should be able to figure out that these are different subjects. Think about it! Look at it this way. Cell biology is learning about the cell at the cellular level. Molecular cell biology is learning about the cell at the molecular level. So what what be tought at the cellular level and what can be tought at the molecular level. If anyone reading this can't figure out what I'm saying I don't know how I can help you out for understanding the differences beyond giving pictures.
Anyone who is a junior or senior in college should be able to figure out that these are different subjects. Think about it! Look at it this way. Cell biology is learning about the cell at the cellular level. Molecular cell biology is learning about the cell at the molecular level. So what what be tought at the cellular level and what can be tought at the molecular level. If anyone reading this can't figure out what I'm saying I don't know how I can help you out for understanding the differences beyond giving pictures.
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Ok. Im clear on the difference between the two classes. Is there any medical school that will look down on a student who took Molecular Biology and not Cell Bio? It seems that more schools recommend Cell Bio, but I for one am not interested in taking that class if I dont have to; Molecular Biology sounds a lot more interesting 😀
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Hope these definitions helps, according to wikipedia:
Cell biology (also called cellular biology or formerly cytology, from the Greek kytos, "container") is an academic discipline that studies cells their physiological properties, their structure, the organelles they contain, interactions with their environment, their life cycle, division and death. This is done both on a microscopic and molecular level. Cell biology research extends to both the great diversity of single-celled organisms like bacteria and the many specialized cells in multicellular organisms like humans.
Knowing the composition of cells and how cells work is fundamental to all of the biological sciences. Appreciating the similarities and also differences between cell types is particularly important to the fields of cell and molecular biology. These fundamental similarities and differences provide a unifying theme, allowing the principles learned from studying one cell type to be extrapolated and generalized to other cell types. Research in cell biology is closely related to genetics, biochemistry, molecular biology and developmental biology
Molecular biology is the study of biology at a molecular level. The field overlaps with other areas of biology and chemistry, particularly genetics and biochemistry. Molecular biology chiefly concerns itself with understanding the interactions between the various systems of a cell, including the interactions between DNA, RNA and protein biosynthesis and learning how these interactions are regulated.
Writing in Nature, William Astbury described molecular biology as:
"... not so much a technique as an approach, an approach from the viewpoint of the so-called basic sciences with the leading idea of searching below the large-scale manifestations of classical biology for the corresponding molecular plan. It is concerned particularly with the forms of biological molecules and ..... is predominantly three-dimensional and structural - which does not mean, however, that it is merely a refinement of morphology - it must at the same time inquire into genesis and function."
Cell biology (also called cellular biology or formerly cytology, from the Greek kytos, "container") is an academic discipline that studies cells their physiological properties, their structure, the organelles they contain, interactions with their environment, their life cycle, division and death. This is done both on a microscopic and molecular level. Cell biology research extends to both the great diversity of single-celled organisms like bacteria and the many specialized cells in multicellular organisms like humans.
Knowing the composition of cells and how cells work is fundamental to all of the biological sciences. Appreciating the similarities and also differences between cell types is particularly important to the fields of cell and molecular biology. These fundamental similarities and differences provide a unifying theme, allowing the principles learned from studying one cell type to be extrapolated and generalized to other cell types. Research in cell biology is closely related to genetics, biochemistry, molecular biology and developmental biology
Molecular biology is the study of biology at a molecular level. The field overlaps with other areas of biology and chemistry, particularly genetics and biochemistry. Molecular biology chiefly concerns itself with understanding the interactions between the various systems of a cell, including the interactions between DNA, RNA and protein biosynthesis and learning how these interactions are regulated.
Writing in Nature, William Astbury described molecular biology as:
"... not so much a technique as an approach, an approach from the viewpoint of the so-called basic sciences with the leading idea of searching below the large-scale manifestations of classical biology for the corresponding molecular plan. It is concerned particularly with the forms of biological molecules and ..... is predominantly three-dimensional and structural - which does not mean, however, that it is merely a refinement of morphology - it must at the same time inquire into genesis and function."
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some med schools *ask* for cell bio, some ask for molecular bio, and some ask for 'cell and molecular' as if it would be one course.
some undergrad schools *offer* cell, molecular, and/or a combination.
i was in a similar situation as you, but a little different. i was looking at a school that wanted 'cell and molecular bio' as if it was one 3 credit course. at my udnergrad school, only cell bio (3 cred) is explicitly offered, but the 'molecular' component was not. i had to find other courses that would include the 'molecular' part, and sent in course descriptions and syllabuses for stuff like immunology and genetics and other classes that might cover it, so it cost me a little more money to earn the credits.
at another school, however, there is a 'cell and molecular' bio that was offered as one course. I could have just taken that one class and it would have covered it.
anyway bottom line is.. you should ask the schools you are applying to how flexible they are about it.. maybe they will want syllabus or course descs of alternate classes.. or maybe you can find out if there is a cheaper combo class you can take that will cover both requirements. i doubt that second option though. anyway good luck.
some undergrad schools *offer* cell, molecular, and/or a combination.
i was in a similar situation as you, but a little different. i was looking at a school that wanted 'cell and molecular bio' as if it was one 3 credit course. at my udnergrad school, only cell bio (3 cred) is explicitly offered, but the 'molecular' component was not. i had to find other courses that would include the 'molecular' part, and sent in course descriptions and syllabuses for stuff like immunology and genetics and other classes that might cover it, so it cost me a little more money to earn the credits.
at another school, however, there is a 'cell and molecular' bio that was offered as one course. I could have just taken that one class and it would have covered it.
anyway bottom line is.. you should ask the schools you are applying to how flexible they are about it.. maybe they will want syllabus or course descs of alternate classes.. or maybe you can find out if there is a cheaper combo class you can take that will cover both requirements. i doubt that second option though. anyway good luck.
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They may have different technical definitions, but as mentioned previously, a school's definition of included course material can vary widely. For example (copied from my school's course listings):
315 Cell Biology. 3 cr. U. Cell structure and function at the molecular level. Flow of material, energy, and information within prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. 3 hrs lec. Molecular/microbiology course. Prereq: Bio Sci 152(C); Chem 104(C).
Seems like you could make a passable argument that based on the description the course covers requirements for both cell and molecular bio ...
In any case, when in doubt, you can always ask the school directly for clarification.
315 Cell Biology. 3 cr. U. Cell structure and function at the molecular level. Flow of material, energy, and information within prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. 3 hrs lec. Molecular/microbiology course. Prereq: Bio Sci 152(C); Chem 104(C).
Seems like you could make a passable argument that based on the description the course covers requirements for both cell and molecular bio ...
In any case, when in doubt, you can always ask the school directly for clarification.
