Job Check
Molecular and Cellular Biologists
Research and study cellular molecules and organelles to understand cell function and organization.
10 main tasks · most important first
Your main tasks and AI
Importance- 01Maintain accurate laboratory records and data.AI could speed this up a lot
- 02Design molecular or cellular laboratory experiments, oversee their execution, and interpret results.AI could speed this up, with extra tools
- 03Write grant applications to obtain funding.AI could speed this up a lot
- 04Perform laboratory procedures following protocols including deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequencing, cloning and extraction, ribonucleic acid (RNA) purification, or gel electrophoresis.Mostly human for now
- 05Conduct research on cell organization and function, including mechanisms of gene expression, cellular bioinformatics, cell signaling, or cell differentiation.AI could speed this up, with extra tools
- 06Prepare or review reports, manuscripts, or meeting presentations.AI could speed this up a lot
- 07Instruct undergraduate and graduate students within the areas of cellular or molecular biology.AI could speed this up, with extra tools
- 08Direct, coordinate, organize, or prioritize biological laboratory activities.AI could speed this up, with extra tools
- 09Compile and analyze molecular or cellular experimental data and adjust experimental designs as necessary.AI could speed this up, with extra tools
- 10Evaluate new technologies to enhance or complement current research.AI could speed this up, with extra tools
Tasks from O*NET® 31.0 (US Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0, changed by us), most important first. “Already use” comes from Anthropic’s data on real work chats with Claude; “could speed up” from task ratings made with GPT-4 in 2023.
Four studies, side by side
None is a forecast of job loss25%of this job’s work time goes to tasks that people already do with Claude at work, counting tasks where AI only helps as half (2026).Anthropic, 2026
49%of this job’s tasks an AI model could do in half the time, counting tasks that need extra tools as half (rated in 2023).Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin and Rock, 2023
Above 77% of jobsin how often and how well AI helped with this job’s work in Microsoft Copilot chats (2024 data).Microsoft Research (Tomlinson et al.), 2025
Above 61% of jobsin how much of this job’s physical work robots have been shown to do, from factories to homes (2026).Anthropic, 2026
Your human edge
The main tasks with no real AI use seen and no big speed-up expected. This is where your skill counts most today.
- Perform laboratory procedures following protocols including deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequencing, cloning and extraction, ribonucleic acid (RNA) purification, or gel electrophoresis.