Molecular Genetics Helps

[CarolinaGirl]

So I take the test April 16th where can I find a good website to explain some basics. I have the EK books but am not sure if that is enough. I have done a search google but there is a lot and I don't know what is good or not. Thanks guys

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[midn]

This is a silly question, but what exactly encompasses "molecular genetics"? Are we just talking about gene xyz making gene product Xyz along with various operons and mutations?

If that's so, looks like my biochem is finally going to come in handy .

 

[CarolinaGirl]

This is a silly question, but what exactly encompasses "molecular genetics"? Are we just talking about gene xyz making gene product Xyz along with various operons and mutations?

If that's so, looks like my biochem is finally going to come in handy .

That is what I am trying to figure out. The big thing people who just took the test talked about was molecular genetics. I am not sure if it is covered in the EK stuff or not. Nothing I have is clearly stated as such.

 

[poly800rock]

that seems to be the trend from the past few tests.....i had friends that took the april that said it was heavy and i took the august exam and genetics in general was pretty heavy. but in hindsight, it's really nothing more than taking a step back from the passage and answering the question.....am i going to suffer through a semester in molecular genetics just for the mcat? i would rather jump out a window.

also as far as EK genetics goes....do you strictly use EK for everything else like all the other areas in bio? I find myself going to my freshmen bio book more often than not...that thing was pretty handy...

 

[CarolinaGirl]

that seems to be the trend from the past few tests.....i had friends that took the april that said it was heavy and i took the august exam and genetics in general was pretty heavy. but in hindsight, it's really nothing more than taking a step back from the passage and answering the question.....am i going to suffer through a semester in molecular genetics just for the mcat? i would rather jump out a window.

also as far as EK genetics goes....do you strictly use EK for everything else like all the other areas in bio? I find myself going to my freshmen bio book more often than not...that thing was pretty handy...

So due to my present sitituation I only have the EK stuff. I have been out of school for 6yrs. I am a FNP non-trad so I did not really get that in my AP classes. Plus I take the test in a week so I just want to find a good site to review somethings that may not be covered well in the EK books.

 

[RUKnight]

they give you molecular genetics topics you havent heard before with theories and hypothesis that you have not heard before. It is more reasoning off the passage of which hypothesis is right or which statement would most disprove the hypothesis or theories than specific recall of topics in molecular genetics. Any person with good reasoning skills can get that passage right with little mol gen knowledge

 

[MSTPbound]

they give you molecular genetics topics you havent heard before with theories and hypothesis that you have not heard before. It is more reasoning off the passage of which hypothesis is right or which statement would most disprove the hypothesis or theories than specific recall of topics in molecular genetics. Any person with good reasoning skills can get that passage right with little mol gen knowledge

I suppose... but for these passages, I think it can help if you have some experience reading this caliber of biology just to get used to the amount of RAM you need to keep track of stuff... pull a biochem or molecular bio research article on a protein or transcription factor of your choice, and just challenge yourself to keep track of what the heck is going on mechanistically. I think if you've done this a few times, you're less freaked out about reasoning with this flavor of MCAT bio passage. Just my

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MSTPbound

 

[Psychotropic]

Don't sweat it. Yesterday's bio was heavy w/ mol genetics ans so was august. Seriously EK has everything you really need to know. Understand replication, transcription and translation and terminology with regards to mutations and you can pretty much answer any molecular genetics question. No class will really help you out too much. Good luck!

 

[caliboy007]

Molecular genetics is definitely huge (I took the last 3 MCATs). If you don't know your molecular genetics, you will not do well. Most of it is stuff you have never heard of before (although they could, they haven't given the lac operon which most us know), it is all stuff related to diseases and what not, regulation, etc etc. No book is going to teach you this stuff... it is how well you can interpret graphs and data.

 

[MSTPbound]

... it is how well you can interpret graphs and data.

and how well you can figure out which molecule does what to which other molecule which controls some other factors and cascades of something somehow and what happens when you take something that has effect ABC and XYZ on factor 123 which negatively regulates an inhibitor of the original molecule.

 

[CarolinaGirl]

Thanks for the info guys, clarified some things for me

 

[Blondnuttyboy]

lac operon, tri-nucleotide repeat diseases, sex chrom inheritance, missense/nonsense mutations, modes of bacterial genetic diversity, horizontal vs vertical gene transfer, post translational modification, viral mechanisms....all these encompass molecular genetics..and there's more...

the trick is, I agree with MBound - is to be at least familiar with techniques, ideas, theories etc.

I.E. if you get a concept about shotgun sequencing, or huntington's, will you flip out? or how about holliday structures?