As we know that DNA has been the hot topic in Biology. But did we stop to think that it has been the hot topic in Biology for almost 70 Yrs?

DNA was discovered long before watson and crick cracked the way how DNA is organized. and a long time ago scientist isolated tRNA that codes proteins.

the biological world is now going through a shift which will touch the very building block of life, Proteins

Proteins as we know are made out of amino acids and amino acids are coded by something called a Codon.

i forgotten the term but as i know one amino acid can have various codons coding it.

so different lenghts of DNA can practically code 1 single protein molecule.


that is why DNA has its limitation when analyzing fossils. because, if i am not mistaken it can only be acurate for aout 50-60 million years.

but for proteins you can accurately date a sample back as far as 100 - 200 million years.

i was very passionate about science when i noticed that malaysian biotech has no future. so i went into finance instead. but Boy do i miss biology

Degenerative codon.
Since when Malaysian bio-tech field has no future?
Most of my bio-tech friends got their job in bio-tech field.
Some of them spend time doing bio-tech researches in my university.

Malaysia biotech no future? -.- are u serious?

Biotech has been one of the hottest course currently. Almost all university with science subject are offering it.

lolx..i used to called it codon also..the term is not important imo, as long as u get the theory..it's indeed interesting.. combining 3 out of 4 nucleotides, is responsible for 1 a.a. so 4 to the power of 3 = 64 codons exist..some r start n stop codons..
wat i remember in proteomics, 1st is to separate the various proteins ( the protein layer separated by centrifugation?) by isoelectrophoresis, 2nd dimensional separation is by SDS-page..after isolation, obtain the protein of interest and analyse the a.a. sequence by different methods..there r specific enzymes that cut at certain a.a...i cant remember them..pepsin might b one, and conventional sequencing is cut the a.a. 1 by 1 at the end (forgot wat enzyme used) and deduce them..whereas modern methods break protein into fragments (one method is by MALDI) and measure the m/z ratio using mass spec to deduce the aa sequence...then mayb move on to deducing the hypothetical protein conformation using the aa sequence...

if u like biology u should go for it...don think of the prospect 1st..juz say sorry to ur parents afterwards..i see study as to gain knowledge and satisfy my curiosity..not as a tool to earn money...

hehe, i studied biotech n i din get the job i want...if got lobang can offer me? my results r not good but i hv an analytical mind...lolx..but not good in application..;D

biotech student reporting in...
no job prospect in msia??

Too many graduates, too little good jobs for any biological science students.

So what's this thread about? I'd like to know more.
But there's no direction for the discussion lah.

Biotech grad here....
Most of my ex-classmates ended up doing sales

While i end up in the pharmaceutical sector.......

Malaysia currently just doesnt have enough facilities to provide jobs for so many biotech grads....

Proteomics is pretty fun to start with.
20 amino acids as building blocks for proteins.
Protein comes in different lengths/sizes and structures.
They decide how our cell functions..many many more

Job prospect very dry. Like mentioned b4, most grads end up in sales line, myself too in the beginning. I even had a classmate ended up as a kindy teacher!.

Most of the R&D work goes on in academia. The industry is still new.

But there's the catch guys, theres plenty of room for growth here - if u can come up with a great idea, there's a lot that can be capitalized on. From what I;ve seen so far, the one way of succeeding in Malaysia's current biotech scenario is to DIY. Entrepreneurship is the way forward. Don't rely on looking for the job, u make the job.

This post has been edited by pleasuresaurus: Jul 11 2009, 04:44 PM

i doing marketing for colgate palmolive la. hahaha

langsung nothing to do with Biotech.

but i got a hons degree in biotech

What's the difference between biotechnology and Medical Biotechnology

Medical Biotechnology is a field under Biotechnology

Biotech related field/job in malaysia sure got future.. its the job offer for this field is still lack.. My wife is an undergrad in biotech for 6 years now, even continue studying masters in molecular biotech, but still.. she'd already request for sooo many posts in gov and private sector, still no reply from them.. 6 years keep filling in that shittay SPA form again and again.. now she ends up as a research assistant with salary less than SPM "graduates" gets.. sigh.. Malaysia boooleh sangattt

This post has been edited by kord: Jul 27 2009, 11:19 AM

I am currently doing my phd degree of agriculture sciences at upm.I am considering some methods for my proteomics research regarding oil palm protein. anyone out there could enlighten me? I have some question which I hope to find someone to discuss before I bring it to my supervisory committee. those proteomics study is no my main field. but its great if I can quantify the relation of the specific protein to some plant physiology respond to environment. thanks in advance.

This post has been edited by PcWork: Jul 31 2009, 04:34 AM

Why not take up your ideas to MPOB (Malaysian Palm Oil Board)? They've got their own R&D thing going on, so I'm pretty sure you can have a chat with them about what you plan to do.

Proteomics and DNA has to be viewed in proper context.

The strength of proteomics is of course by analyzing proteins, you're looking into the final product. Genes are meant to produced proteins.
But any proteomics guy will tell you issues like ability to extract proteins, separate proteins and contamination can be major hindrances.
So, you have a technique that let you see the `end' product of a cell/system and yet separation and purification is not easy.

the strength of RNA analysis is that its easier in terms of separation. but then, sometimes, the RNA profile doesnt tell us enough as compared to the proteome.

As for prospect, it all depends on your definition of what is `prospect'.

IF we see biotechnology as what is `really' is: invention, innovation that brings loads of money Who invented Yakult? Who holds the seeds (transgenic) of the future? Where are all the giant pharmaceutical companies located (I am not talking about mixing some tongkat ali in coffee...)...
then..our biotechnology sucks...!!! too much wayang in our country..

if you see biotechnology as sales of equipments, creating new syllabus in colleges, research projects in MSc or Phd, etc, etc...then these things are available in abundance in MAlaysia...

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Added on August 5, 2009, 8:33 amhonestly, if you're doing a Phd, i would expect you to be more aggressive in your preparation. there are people in MPOB that does proteomics. I cant name names but pay them a visit or surf their website.
be careful of doing proteomics just because its proteomics (big, fancy name). always be clear of your research objectives and questions. Proteomics, like any other huge fancy word in life sciences...is just another tool...its great only if you know why you use it.
all the best!!

This post has been edited by nando: Aug 5 2009, 08:33 AM

so are we going to discuss DNA or Jobs & Careers in Bio-Tech field?

correction to MR goldfries. we are discussing Proteomics not DNA.

it is something like DNA but unlike DNA proteins are not degenerate: Meaning that one protein molecule cannot be coded by different amino acid

compared to one amino acid is coded by 3 or more DNA codons.
potential applications is for prehistoric genetic translation and also
gene mapping for ancient DNA>

the limit for DNA is about a few thousand or million years where as the coding for protein is about a few billion years if i not mistaken

totally agree with u since I also graduated in bio-tech, my friends all end up with doing sales.. some with ego heart decide to stay at university to do research with a very low income...so guys don't be cheated by the advertisement!

I know proteomics is hot now, and many research company has brought this new tech to malaysia, but tell u all a truth that most our professor in U still not very clear bout this tech. I think the phd student doing this research are more expert to them.. so if u wanna join this fields, pls prepare coz your supervisor can't help u, better look out some phd student in same field to help out!

This post has been edited by Abbyqin: Aug 8 2009, 01:52 PM

Gone case man.

So because of a lack of research funding we now have a glut of bio-tech grads?

I'm beginning to suspect that all of these "education fairs" are designed only to rake in obscene amounts of money from students and then supply an easily exploitable labor glut.

This makes me very angry.

This post has been edited by Dickson Poon: Aug 10 2009, 01:52 AM

Biotech grad here too from UTAR. It's a very fun course but the job prospect is not that good (sometimes I regret studying the course). Currently doing masters in UM lol...hopefully with a master's degree can get job easier