The science and study of life and of plant, animal, and other types of organisms. The science of life and living organisms, biology studies the form, structure, function, growth and development, behavior and interaction of all living things. Biologists study the characteristics of life forms, such as their cellular organization and development, how they respond to stimulation, the chemical processes of their growth and production of energy (metabolism) and how they reproduce. But the underlying question all biologists try to answer is, What is life?
Life is divided into levels of organization that help biologists see the big picture within the study of each organism. The organization goes from the tiniest part of the life form that can be studied, to the largest:
While people have always been interested in the study of life and used what they learned in their attempts at healing and in their religious rites (like the Egyptians' practice of embalming or trying to preserve the bodies of the dead), biology was confused with a lot of superstition and was sometimes considered magical. The study of biology as a science wasn't really developed until the last few centuries BC.
During this time, Aristotle established the basic tools of biology, which are observation and analysis. Aristotle was responsible for the concept of classification, which separated the life forms and made it easier to study a certain branch or level of a life form. Still, his knowledge of all the different classifications of life was limited. From about the third century BC until the second century AD, biological studies were most concerned with agriculture and medicine and how biological discoveries could benefit the human condition.
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The recognition ofcells and molecules did not begin until years after the invention of the microscope, credited to Galileo Galilei around the year 1610. From explorations with the microscope came the discovery of bacteria and germs. Additional study led to the germ theory of disease in the late 1800s and the development of vaccines and antibiotics to control the spread of disease in the early 1900s.
Jan Ingenhousz, a Dutch-born British physician and scientist, is credited with the discovery of photosynthesis. Expanding upon the work of the English chemist Joseph Priestley, Ingenhousz found that light was necessary for plants to restore oxgyen to the air. He lived from 1730 to 1799.
Although the question, 'What is life?' may never be fully answered, the study of biology has made many significant improvements to human life. The complexity of biology and its interconnection with other sciences will probably keep humans forever fascinated with the study of life.
Because there is such a huge variety of living things on the earth, the science of biology has many different branches and areas of study. Depending on their discipline, biologists usually research one or more of the following categories:
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Biologists also use other sciences to research life. Without chemistry and physics, much of the knowledge we have gathered about life would have been impossible to collect.
In an effort to answer the “what is life” question, much of the history of biological study has been focused on trying to classify and define life forms. The four categories above led to the development of many subcategories as biologists learn more about the depth and complexity of living things. Some of the other subdivisions of biology are:-
