A day in the life of a biology student
This article was originally published in German. The English version is an automatic translation and may contain errors. The German original is authoritative.
Whilst in the first three semesters most days begin with an eight o'clock lecture, that is at 10.00 a.m., students in the specialisation semesters (4+) are usually granted an extra hour of sleep – one of many reasons why this time is more popular. Two semesters of electives only: pure luxury student life, if only you didn't still have to catch up on maths and inorganic chemistry.
9.00 a.m.: Brief prep talk from the Prof or the doctoral student who drew the shortest straw, and then off to the lab. First get some ice, disinfect hands and surfaces, and then it's off: fetch the organisms. Whether E. coli, Arabidopsis or C. elegans – their chances of survival are slim. Treatment, DNA extraction and then qPCR; you pipette, you wear a lab coat, you feel smart and then fail in the evening when writing up the protocol because you can't get Word to understand that DNA isn't "THEN".
But to say a few serious words as well: it is an exciting degree that accompanies you home every day. Biology is simply everywhere around us. It is a calling and not merely vocational training; anyone who just wants to make money studies something else.
Further information about the Student Subject Initiative Biology can be found on Insta [@fibio_wue].