Biology :: Biology

Biology is the science of living systems. It is inherently interdisciplinary, requiring knowledge of the physical sciences and mathematics, although specialities whitethorn be oriented toward a group oforganisms or a take of organization. BOTANY isconcerned with plant action, ZOOLOGY with animal liveness, algology with ALGAE, MYCOLOGY withfungi, MICROBIOLOGY with microorganismssuch as protozoa and bacteria, CYTOLOGY withCELLS, and so on. All biological specialties,however, be concerned with life and itscharacteristics. These characteristics includecellular organization, METABOLISM, responseto stimuli, suppuration and growth, andreproduction. Furthermore, the informationneeded to work the expression of suchcharacteristics is contained within each organism.FUNDAMENTAL DISCIPLINES Life is change integrityinto many levels of organization--atoms,molecules, cells, tissues, organs, organ systems,organisms, and populations. The basic disciplinesof biology may study life at one or more of theselevels. Taxonomy attempts to arrange organisms incancel groups based on common features. It isconcerned with the identification, naming, andclassification of organisms. The seven studytaxonomic categories, or taxa, utilizationd inclassification are kingdom, phylum, class, order,family, genus, and species. early systems usedonly two kingdoms, plant and animal, whereasmost modern systems use five MONERA(BACTERIA and BLUE-GREEN ALGAE),PROTISTA (PROTOZOA and the new(prenominal)ALGAE), FUNGI, PLANT, and wolf. Thediscipline of bionomics is concerned with theinterrelationships of organisms, both amongthemselves and between them and their surroundings. Studies of the energy flow by means ofcommunities of organisms and of the milieu(the ecosystem approach) are especially valuablein assessing the effects of human activities. Anecologist must(prenominal) be knowledgeable in otherdisciplines of biology. Organisms respond tostimuli from other organisms and from theenvironment be haviorists are concerned withthese responses. Most of them study animals--asindividuals, groups, or entire species--in describingANIMAL BEHAVIOR patterns. These patternsinclude ANIMAL MIGRATION, courtship andmating, social organization, TERRITORIALITY,INSTINCT, and learning. When humans areincluded, biology overlaps with psychology andsociology. Growth and orientation responses ofplants can also be studied in the discipline ofbehavior, although they are traditionallyconsidered as be under development andPHYSIOLOGY, respectively. Descriptive andcomparative EMBRYOLOGY are the classicareas of information studies, althoughpostembryological development, particularly theaging process, is also examined. The biochemicaland biophysical mechanisms that control normaldevelopment are of particular interest when theyare related to birth defects, cancer, and otherabnormalities. Inheritance of physical andbiochemical characteristics, and the variations thatappear from generation to generation, a re the global subjects of GENETICS. The emphasismay be on improving domestic plants and animalsthrough controlled breeding, or it may be on themore fundamental questions of molecular andcellular mechanisms of HEREDITY. A branch ofbiology growing in immenseness since the 1940s,molecular biology essentially developed out ofgenetics and biochemistry. It seeks to excusebiological events by studying the molecules within