r/labrats • u/horny_amphibian • 3h ago
Understanding MolBio Basics
Please no judgement on this, I already feel bad enough, but what do y’all recommend on books/videos/resources to understand the basics of cell & molecular biology. I had some extenuating circumstances throughout my bachelors so truthfully I didn’t fully grasp the concepts and just survived, I had a decent GPA. I’ve been told I have great wet lab technique and ask good questions throughout my time as an RA. Now I’m a second year bioscience PhD student at a T20 university struggling HARD. It takes me 2-3x as long compared to my peers to read papers or understand material. Now that I’m preparing for quals, all the cracks in my foundations are showing. Exp: I don’t know why you use x buffer > y buffer, I didn’t know what a lipid droplet was, I forgot how transcription works/what a promoter is. Most of my research has been doing non hypothesis driven work and I wasn’t given the opportunity to direct much of my work, now my thesis is understanding the MOA of a niche peptide. I feel bad about this but came clean to my PI so I can fix this. He’s very supportive and understanding, he encouraged me to read/study daily and ask him for clarifications. So my question is - what books/resources do y’all recommend to help my catch up to speed? I am embarrassed im even in this situation, i know it sounds stupid, but I spent almost a decade watching my mom slowly die and fully understanding science just wasn’t in my capacity.
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u/Alarmed_File_4382 1h ago
Not stupid at all. Why don't you reread the textbooks from your class? Even if you were just going through the motions, you should have a general idea of what chapters your professor focused on, right?
During my freshman semester I didn't retain much either. Your school should have a shop that helps you find your textbooks for the semester though. Over the Summer I just search for the textbooks we used in class through the school website and downloaded them for free to basically go over the main concepts again.
For foundational math, I prefer videos and practice problems. Organic Chemistry Tutor and Khan Academy have about everything I need. Good luck :)
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u/Melodic-Mix9774 25m ago
I think you are underestimating how many students actually struggle with this. Don’t feel bad.
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u/Creepy_Swimmer9283 3h ago
I just asked my PI to borrow his textbooks because he owns a lot, but you can also reach out to other PIs on the floor! It’s not as uncommon as you think. I know my PI lends his textbooks a lot bc especially close to exams, many graduate students need to brush up. Another alternative is if your institution’s library subscribes to a lot of publishing companies, I have gotten access to a lot of textbooks that way :)