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Discipline

Biology

Also Known As Bio
Life Sciences

Biology is the branch of science that studies living organisms and their vital processes, spanning molecular, cellular, organismal, and population levels of life.

Facts
Founded Year
1802 1
The term biology came into wide use around 1802, after Jean-Baptiste Lamarck adopted it; the study of living things itself is far older, so this dates the modern discipline's name rather than its origin.
Central Question
What are the shared mechanisms and history that unite the diversity of life, from its molecular basis to its evolutionary history? 2
Scope
Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms, encompassing the structure, function, growth, origin, evolution and distribution of life across scales from molecules to ecosystems. 2
Significance
The term biology was introduced independently by several scholars around 1800. The field later gained two great unifying frameworks: Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection, and, a century after that, James Watson and Francis Crick's 1953 description of the DNA double helix, which gave biology a molecular foundation tying together subfields from genetics and cell biology to ecology and evolutionary biology. 2
Biology
Filter Results6 entries
Connections

Founded By

Source Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (Britannica)

Has Scientist

Source Charles Darwin (Britannica)

Has Theory

Cladistics, Theories
Source Louis Pasteur: Spontaneous Generation (Britannica)
Source Charles Darwin (Britannica)
Vitalism, Theories

Uses

Source Centrifuge (Britannica)
Source Transmission Electron Microscopy (Wikipedia)
Source Microscope (Britannica)
Sources
1. Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (Britannica)
Encyclopaedia BritannicaView the Source
2. Wikipedia: Biology
WikipediaLead section
Quote, Lead section
Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, and distribution of life.
View the Source
Louis Pasteur: Spontaneous Generation (Britannica)
Encyclopaedia BritannicaHas Theory: Germ Theory of DiseaseView the Source
Charles Darwin (Britannica)
Encyclopaedia Britannica
  • Has Theory: Natural Selection
  • Has Scientist: Charles Darwin
View the Source
Centrifuge (Britannica)
Encyclopaedia BritannicaUses: CentrifugeView the Source
Transmission Electron Microscopy (Wikipedia)
WikipediaUses: Electron MicroscopeView the Source
Microscope (Britannica)
Encyclopaedia BritannicaUses: MicroscopeView the Source
Emil Fischer (Britannica)
Encyclopaedia BritannicaEncompasses: BiochemistryView the Source
Camillo Golgi (Britannica)
Encyclopaedia BritannicaEncompasses: NeuroscienceView the Source
Microbiology (Britannica)
Encyclopaedia BritannicaEncompasses: MicrobiologyView the Source
Edward Jenner (Britannica)
Encyclopaedia BritannicaEncompasses: ImmunologyView the Source
Botany (Britannica)
Encyclopaedia BritannicaEncompasses: BotanyView the Source
Zoology (Britannica)
Encyclopaedia BritannicaEncompasses: ZoologyView the Source
Wikipedia: Ecology
WikipediaEncompasses: EcologyView the Source
William Bateson Coins the Term Genetics
HistoryofInformation.com (Jeremy Norman & Co.)Encompasses: GeneticsView the Source
Georges Cuvier (Britannica)
Encyclopaedia BritannicaEncompasses: PaleontologyView the Source
Mycology (Wikipedia)
WikipediaEncompasses: Mycology, Lead sectionView the Source
Wikipedia: Molecular biology
WikipediaEncompasses: Molecular Biology, Lead section
Quote, Encompasses: Molecular Biology, Lead section
Molecular biology is a branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecular structures and chemical processes that are the basis of biological activity within and between cells.
View the Source
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