AboutSophia Jane Expertise I can answer basic questions related to heritable diseases, and moderate level questions regarding genetics and biology in general. Please, no questions on what your future children will look like. I will happily answer questions regarding the inheritance of hair or eye colour, genetic diseases, genetic traits, etc..., but anything phrased as "I look like X and my partner look like Y; what will our baby look like?" will be sent to the question pool.
Experience
Education/Credentials BA (biological) anthropology, UC Berkeley.
Expert: Sophia Jane Date: 2/21/2008 Subject: hello
Question the subjects i m taking in school are chemistry, physics and biology. i want to become a geneticist, so will i need physics for that? if not then do you think it is wise to drop it?
Answer Thanks for the question, Sara. More than likely, you will need physics to satisfy the academic requirements of any undergrad or graduate degree you wish to pursue for the biological sciences. How much physics actually comes into play in genetics may depend upon your particular field of research, but the general idea behind requiring at least one semester in physics at the undergrad level is to mold potential scientists who have a firm grasps in scientific concepts.
If you are a high school student taking physics can prepare you for the subject at the undergrad level. A good idea is to research the school that you'd like to attend and see what the requirements are for your intended degree (which may be genetics, but also may be molecular biology, biology, life sciences, etc...). If you are already an undergrad please speak with an academic advisor or check the requirements for the intended degree.
