Hey guys, I was wondering if there are a lot of Pinoys in this field. I'm currently taking up these subjects to complete my degree and we're already talking about really technical stuff here.

I know a lot of premiere schools there offer Biology as a BS degree but I was wondering if they also cover these fields? The school I'm in is also planning to offer stem cell research next semester, I'm wondering if I could take it up.

Just to give a sample, if you have a known gene, and want to know its effect when mutated (knocked out or knocked down), you could transfect a reporter gene through a resctriction enzyme assay (i.e. plasmids) to cut the gene and insert your reporter gene of choice (primarily color based like GFP - green fluorescence proteins) to show up in green when the gene has been activated by various transcription factors or activating proteins. You then place the specimens through in situ hybridization assays so you can see where in the organism (model mice, for example) the genes are expressed.

The difference between knock-out (deleted, replaced by reporter gene) and knock-down (repressed, but not deleted or replaced) depends on the particular assay too.

To me I find it interesting and a bit awkward at the same time. I did not intend to finish this kind of degree that's why it's awkward, but it's interesting enough for me to delve into more. That's why I'm curious if a lot of Pinoys are into this kind of field. I know some Pinoys in class but most of them don't speak Tagalog anymore (I'm in the US).