What is biology the study of?
Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that explains the structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, and distribution of life.
Questions about Biology
Short answers, pulled from the story.
What are the five fundamental themes of biology?
The five fundamental themes of biology are the cell as the basic unit of life, genes and heredity as the basis of inheritance, evolution as the driver of biological diversity, energy transformation for sustaining life processes, and homeostasis, the maintenance of internal stability.
Where does the word biology come from?
The word biology comes from the Greek bios, meaning life, and logia, meaning study of. The compound appears in the title of Volume 3 of Michael Christoph Hanow's work published in 1766, and the modern term was introduced independently by Thomas Beddoes in 1799, Karl Friedrich Burdach in 1800, Gottfried Reinhold Treviranus in 1802, and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck in 1802.
Who discovered the structure of DNA in biology?
James Watson and Francis Crick discovered the double-helical structure of DNA in 1953. This discovery marked the transition to the era of molecular genetics.
Who developed the theory of evolution by natural selection?
Charles Darwin forged the theory of evolution by natural selection, combining the biogeographical approach of Humboldt, the geology of Lyell, and Malthus's writings on population growth with his own observations. Alfred Russel Wallace independently reached the same conclusions from similar reasoning and evidence.
What are the main subdisciplines of biology?
The main subdisciplines of biology include molecular biology, physiology, ecology, evolutionary biology, developmental biology, and systematics. Other fields include biochemistry, cell biology, genetics, and conservation biology.
Why is conservation biology important?
Conservation biology aims to protect species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction. Estimates suggest up to 50% of all species on the planet may disappear within the next 50 years, a loss that has contributed to poverty and starvation.