Branches of Biology

• Biology is the study of life, focusing on the structure of living things and the processes that occur.

Branches of Biology

• Anatomy: Study of internal physical structure, aiding disease diagnosis
• Physiology: Study of the functioning of body parts, focusing on vital substances transported throughout the body.
• Embryology: Study of organism development from a fertilized egg, involving organ and tissue formation
• Genetics: Study of the transfer of characteristics from parents to offspring, also explores the causes of genetic diseases
• Molecular Biology: Study of biological molecules like carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids at a fundamental level
• Histology: Microscopic study of tissues to help in disease diagnosis and understanding organ structure
• Palaeontology: Study of fossils to understand the evolutionary history of organisms
• The oldest known fossil is a cyanobacterium, estimated to be 3.4 billion years old.
• Taxonomy: Classification of organisms into groups based on similarities and differences
• Ecology: Study of the relationships between organisms and their environment to conserve biodiversity
• Marine Biology: Study of life in oceans and saltwater, addressing marine conservation issues
• Pathology: Study of diseases, their causes, effects, assisting disease diagnosis and prevention
• Immunology: Study of the immune system, developing vaccines and treatments for autoimmune conditions
• Pharmacology: Study of drugs and their effects, leading to the development of new medications

Biology's Relation to Other Sciences

• Biochemistry: Study of the structure/reactions of chemical substances in living systems, like photosynthesis and respiration
• Biophysics: Application of physics principles to biological processes, understanding muscle, bone, and joint function,
• Computational Biology: Utilizes mathematical models and computer to analyze biological systems and relationships.
• Biogeography: distribution of living organisms in different geographical regions, also studies climate change influence
• Biostatistics: Applies statistical principles to analyze and interpret biological data within research
• Biotechnology: Employs living organisms to develop beneficial products/processes in healthcare, agriculture, and other environmental industries

Careers in Biology

• Medicine and Surgery: Diagnosis and treatment of diseases, and removal of defective parts needing a 5 year degree
• Dentistry: Specializes in oral health, diagnosing, treating dental issues/surgeries, needing a 4 year degree
• Pharmacology: Focuses on drug effects/development, requiring a BS degree
• Physiotherapy: Restores movement/function impaired by injury through exercise and modalities, needing a 4 year degree
• Fisheries and Wildlife: departments that offer jobs to biologists with a relevant degree
• Agriculture: Improves farming for crop production, needing a 4 year degree
• Animal Husbandry: Breeding/caring for livestock, needing a 4 year degree
• Horticulture: Cultivation of fruits, vegetables, flowers, needing a 4 year degree
• Forestry: Manages and conserves forests/wildlife, needing a 4 year degree
• Farming: Raising crops/animals for food and products, requiring 4 year degree
• Biotechnology using: biological processes to develop products, requiring 4 year degree

Quranic View on Biology

• The Quran emphasizes the creation of living things from water, stating "We made every living thing from water.":
• The Quran also explains the human creation from clay, indicating the development of animals.
• Life began in water, and animals evolved with different modes of locomotion.

Science as Collaboration

• Science solves problems through collaboration.
• Human Genome Project: sequenced the human genome, involving researchers from biology genetics, informatics and computer science
• Climate Change Research: integrates atmospheric science, ecology, economics, and sociology
• Medical Research: includes cancer research that utilizes oncologists, biologists, biochemists, geneticists, etc..
• Robotics/AI: Combines computer science for robotics in fields like healthcare.
• Space Exploration: Involves scientists in astrophysics, biology, medicine, and engineering,.

Scientific Method

• Recognition of a Problem: Involves identifying a biological issues in order to investigate.
• Observation: Scientists use their senses to make qualitative and quantitative observations.
• Hypothesis Development: Forming a testable question or statement.
• Deduction: Creating "if-then" statements as logical results of the hypothesis.
• Experiments: Testing hypotheses through controlled experimental setups
• Includes "experimental groups" and "control groups" to compare variables
• Results: gathering data via analysis, etc to test the hypothesis again, if right, it becomes a theory.

Theory to Law

• A hypothesis becomes a theory, a theory becomes a law.
• A scientific law is a uniform, constant fact of nature

Malaria - Example

• Malaria is a common disease studied by biologists.
• Malaria observations include being associated with marshy areas, and can be treated with quinine.
• Plasmodium was seen in the blood of malarial patients.
• One hypothesis was "Plasmodium is the cause of malaria"
• One deduction was "If Plasmodium is the cause of malaria, then all malarial patients should have Plasmodium in their blood."
• Ronald Ross discovered that mosquitoes transmit Plasmodium.
• Experiment showed that mosquitoes transmit Plasmodium