<p>Hey guys. In order to advance in both of the competitions, in the biology field, does one’s research need to deal with something which involves many people, or can one’s research deal with an obscure issue which affects only ~20 different families around the world (though many researchers believe the number could be much higher especially in impoverished areas where medical care is not easy to access) and could be something which could be a future problem? In other words, I guess I am asking if the research one does needs to have current, broad applications, or if it can still be insightful research into something which could become a future issue. Thanks!</p>
<p>^I don’t think it needs to be a problem that affects a huge number of people. A project on cancer does not get extra points compared with a project on Huntington’s disease, for instance.</p>
<p>Thanks for your reply, collegealum314. I had another question: Is it okay to rely on server data and programs as “experiments,” since I am performing computational biology research? I won’t have any hands-on work. I am using different computational techniques to search for mutations, am running servers to test results of those mutations, and am modelling a protein. Do you think this would be looked upon less favorably than real experimental work?</p>