Introduction to Biology

Biology

Biology is the study of living organisms and their vital processes. It deals with all the physicochemical aspects of life and is subdivided into branches for convenience of study, though all the subdivisions are interrelated by basic principles.

Branches of Biology

Molecular Biology

• Life is regarded as a manifestation of chemical and energy transformations that occur among the many chemical constituents that compose an organism.
• The rise of genomics in the late 20th and early 21st centuries was crucial to understanding and defining the ultimate physiochemical organization of molecules in living matter at the molecular level.

Cell Biology

• The study of cells as the fundamental units of structure and function in living organisms.
• Cells were first observed in the 17th century with the invention of the compound microscope.

Population Biology

• Deals with groups or populations of organisms that inhabit a given area or region.
• Includes studies of the roles that specific kinds of plants and animals play in the complex and self-perpetuating interrelationships that exist between the living and the nonliving world, as well as studies of the built-in controls that maintain those relationships naturally.

Other Branches

• Botany: The study of plants.
• Zoology: The study of animals.
• Morphology: The study of the structure of organisms.
• Physiology: The study of the function of organisms.
• Taxonomy: The classification of organisms.
• Biophysics: The study of physical principles in biological systems.
• Biochemistry: The study of chemical processes in living organisms.
• Genetics: The study of heredity and variation in organisms.
• Epigenetics: The study of heritable changes in gene expression that do not involve changes to the underlying DNA sequence.
• Ecology: The study of the interactions between organisms and their environments.

Basic Concepts of Biology

Homeostasis

The concept of homeostasis, that living things maintain a constant internal environment, was first suggested in the 19th century by French physiologist Claude Bernard. Homeostasis applies not only to the struggle of a single organism to survive but also to any biological system from the cell to the entire biosphere.

Biological Principles

Unity

All living organisms, regardless of their uniqueness, have certain biological, chemical, and physical characteristics in common. All, for example, are composed of basic units known as cells and share common biochemical processes.

Conclusion

Biology is a vast field of study that encompasses all aspects of life. It is subdivided into various branches and levels of study to better understand the complex processes and interactions that occur within and between living organisms.