From the first days of life, man is inextricably linked with biology. Acquaintance with this science begins at the school desk, but we have to deal with biological processes or phenomena every day. Further in the article we will consider what biology is. The definition of this term will help to better understand what is included in the circle of interests of this science.
What biology studies
The first thing that is considered in the study of a science is a theoretical explanation of its meaning. So, there are several formulated definitions of what biology is. We will consider a few of them. For instance:
- Biology is the science of all living organisms that live on Earth, their interaction with each other and with the environment. A similar explanation is most common in school textbooks.
- Biology is a set of teachings that deals with the examination and cognition of living objects of nature. Man, animals, plants, microorganisms - all these are representatives of living organisms.
- And the shortest definition is: biology is the science of life.
The origin of the term has ancient Greek roots. If translated literally, then we will have another definition of what biology is. The word consists of two parts: “bio” - “life”, and “logos” - “teaching”. That is, everything that in one way or another is related to life falls into the field of biology.
Subsections of biology
The definition of biology will become more complete when listing the sections that make up this science:
- Zoology. She is engaged in the study of the animal world, the classification of animals, their internal and external morphology, life, interconnection with the world, and the impact on human life. In addition, zoology considers rare as well as extinct animal species.
- Botany. This is a branch of biology related to the plant world. She is engaged in the study of plant species, their structure and physiological processes. In addition to the main issues related to plant morphology, this category of biology studies the use of plants in industry, human life.
- Anatomy considers the internal and external structure of the human body and animals, organ systems, the interaction of systems.
Each biological section has a number of its own subcategories, each of which studies the narrower topics of the section. In this case, there will be several definitions of biology.
What biology studies
Since the definitions of biology say that this is the science of the living, therefore, the objects of its study are living organisms. These include:
- man;
- plants;
- animals;
- microorganisms.
Biology is also studying the more accurate structures of the body. These include:
- Cellular, molecular - this is an examination of organisms at the level of cells and smaller components.
- Tissue - a complex of cells of one orientation is folded into tissue structures.
- Organ - cells and tissues that perform one function, form organs.
- Organized - a system of cells, tissues and organs and their interaction with each other, forms a full-fledged living organism.
- Population - the structure is aimed at studying the life of individuals of one species in a single territory, as well as their interaction within the system and with other species.
- Biosphere.
Biology is closely related to medicine, therefore its teachings are also medical topics. The study of microorganisms, as well as the molecular structures of living substances, contributes to the production of new drugs to combat various diseases.
What sciences does biology intersect with
Biology is a science that has close interaction with various sciences of other directions. These include:
- Chemistry. Biology and chemistry have a close interweaving of topics and are inextricably linked with each other. Indeed, in biological objects various biochemical processes continuously occur. A simple example is breathing organisms, plant photosynthesis, and metabolism.
- Physics. Even in biology, there is a subsection called biophysics, which explores the physical processes associated with the life of organisms.
As you can see, biology is a multifaceted science. The definition of what biology can be rephrased in different ways, but the meaning remains the same - this is the doctrine of living organisms.