Biological technicians are the glue that holds the lab together. Acting as assistants to scientists and biologists, they carry out a variety of tasks – preparing specimens, assisting with experiments and compiling data.

Have you ever seen a map displaying where influenza outbreaks are located during flu season? That’s the work of a bioinformatics scientist! Complex scientific research yields vast amounts of valuable data – but how is all that data managed and shared? Bioinformatics scientists design computer tools and databases for processing and analyzing the resulting data to ensure that the information obtained is able to be interpreted and shared, paving the way for new discoveries across the globe.

How can we grow crops that resist disease, withstand droughts or yield larger produce? Bioengineers solve issues like these by enhancing or augmenting biological processes. This may mean working to develop a transgenic papaya that resists the ringspot virus, a strain of cotton plant that is able to tolerate herbicides or a type of popcorn that produces more kernels. In this way, bioengineers help improve the productivity of crops used for food, fiber and fuel.

Comparing biochemists to biophysicists is like comparing apples to oranges – or actually – atoms to molecules. Biochemists study molecular functions, such as how cells metabolize chemical compounds, like food and medicine. Biophysicists focus on atomic functions, and how the laws of physics affect biology, like the effect of zero gravity on plants and animals.

If you are solutions-focused with a passion for animals, a career as an animal scientist could be a great fit for you. They research genetics, nutrition, growth, development and reproduction of domestic livestock and companion animals to better animal quality of life and well-being.

If you have a passion for animals and a love for science, then an animal nutritionist may be the perfect career for you. Animal nutritionists spend their time analyzing behavior and growth of all species of animals to make decisions about their health and wellbeing. They provide producers and/or animal caretakers with feeding recommendations that will increase the quality of life for all animals.

As animals’ lives improve, so does human quality of life, and the availability of nutritious food on our tables. Animal geneticists work to determine which traits are most desirable – such as greater resistance to disease, or higher milk output – then help to promote those traits through breeding programs.

From blue jeans to insulin, chemistry is responsible for many of history’s most important scientific breakthroughs. As the detectives of the chemistry field, analytical chemists identify substances and how they behave. Their work is used in many industries both in and outside the laboratory – you can find analytical chemists working in forensic labs identifying evidence, in environmental labs testing for toxins and pollutants or in the animal pharmaceutical field developing new drugs to improve our pets’ health.

If you’ve ever asked “Alexa, what’s the weather today?” then you’re familiar with the work of machine engineers. Machine engineers curate and program large data sets that ultimately function as the “brain” of artificial intelligence devices, allowing them to operate independently.

Did you know there are over 100 different types of soil and a large array of environmental factors that affect how productive these soils are? Agronomists are the soil doctors that study the relationship between soil and plant life, they work to improve soil quality and productivity, plant health, seed quality and the nutritional value of crops.

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