Living beings are very complex systems that are studied from multiple aspects. Given the immense field that biology covers, which encompasses levels of organization of complexity as diverse as molecules and populations of organisms can be, the branches and sciences into which it is divided are numerous, all of them intimately linked to each other, as derivations and different projections of a single phenomenon: life.
What is biology
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Biology is the science of life, its name is conformed by the Greek roots bios (life) and logos (study or treatise). Biology is dedicated to the study of living beings and everything related to them.
The definition of biology comes from the Greek Bio, which has a meaning referring to life and Logía, which means study or science. With this we can understand that biology is nothing more than the study of life in general terms, that is, it is not satisfied with studying humanity, but everything that is part of nature and that has life so much on our planet as in the rest of the stars existing in the universe. In addition to this, this science is responsible for deeply studying the origin of life and evolution.
The interesting thing about this science is that it does not focus on a single objective, but rather delves fully into life at general levels, into the morphology of a living being, nutrition, sexuality and reproduction. It also describes in detail the characteristics that individualize each living being and, according to the results, ends up grouping them by species and structuring the governing laws in each of them with a fairly functional dynamic, so that the results of the investigations serve us in the future. Biology shows us that a living being can start from a molecule and evolve.
Within the definition of biology we find the Greek origin of the word, however, it is also important to mention that the term was published for the first time in 1766 by the meteorologist Michael Christoph Hanow in his work “Philosophiae naturalis sive physicae dogmaticae: Geology, biology, phytologia generalis et dendrologia ”. Later it was mentioned in the year 1800 by the physiologist Karl Friedrich Burdach. For those times the true meaning of the word was confusing, however, thanks to these scholars and current scientists, we can have a broad idea of what biology is.
This is a fairly broad and complex science that is not only responsible for studying living beings, but also describes and groups them according to their characteristics. In many biology books it is said that the scale in which this science investigates living beings is so high, starting from microorganisms and subcomponents to the most complex systems of humanity, animal life and nature in general. Currently biology has a subdivision that is categorized according to the types of existing organisms and their scale of study.
The concept of biology has been nurtured over the years, as more and more important aspects are born that have to be mentioned so that people can understand what biology is from different points of view and what are the new terms included in classifications that already exist and that can be multiplied as more research emerges. The images of current biology allow us to understand even more how microorganisms work in different climates, their reaction to some chemicals and the changes they may have during studies.
The origin of the study of biology
The history of biology goes back thousands of years, maybe in Egyptian times where the population had their own medical customs and history of nature and called them as Āyurveda or when Galen and Aristotle discovered that this science existed and studied it in what was known as the Greco-Roman territory. Each of the investigations carried out by these scholars continued their course in the Middle Ages and each one was increasing the content with more interesting aspects that would even give more sense to the concept of biology that many had years ago.
The biological sciences turned out to be a mystery for scientists and scholars of the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the modern age, since an endless number of completely new organisms were discovered and with a series of details that the scholars of the past had overlooked, Due to this, the subdivisions of biology were born and a new era began in which all kinds of microorganisms would begin to be studied, renewed attention would be paid to fossils and special machinery would be created to discover how the elements worked. chemicals and their reaction in biological studies.
By the beginning of the 18th and 19th centuries, zoology and botany went from being isolated common studies to biology, to a couple of important sciences in which more and more professionals were born willing to study, investigate and publish their discoveries, some of them were closely related to molecular biology. Then, in the twentieth century, thanks to Mendel's studies, today we know the complexity of genetics and how much this can come to surprise over the years, in fact, different investigations are currently being carried out.
Biology has a series of principles that all scientists and scholars must follow in order to carry out their research. Universality is one of the most important principles that govern this science. Why? because there are different imperative aspects that must be taken into account to know all the existing forms of life. Biochemistry is the basis of the cells that abound in all living beings, these same organisms store a hereditary channel known as genetics and all of these form a universal code that surrounds living beings located on earth.
The next principle of biology is evolution and this is a very important aspect to touch on, since this science exists because all existing signs of life are thanks to the descendants of an ancestor organism that, naturally, went through a process of evolution.. It was possible to discover that if a microorganism mutates or evolves, it is because it has a point in common with another microorganism that had life in the past, it is here where chromosomes, genes and phylogeny are studied, a science that studies the history of evolution of living beings.
The diversity is also another basic principles of life sciences and no wonder, since as mentioned above, there are many forms of life and each has a different classification and from disciplines as taxonomy and systematics. In the classification of 3 kingdoms are: Animalia, Plantae and Protista. The two kingdoms possess Eukaryota and Prokaryota. The four kingdoms are made up of Monera, Protoctista, Plantae, and Animalia. Five kingdoms by Fungi, Monera, Plantae, Animalia and Protista. Finally, three domains, which is composed of Archaea, Eukarya and Bacteria.
This last classification is the most accepted, it was created by Carl Richard Woese between 1977 and 1990. With this division he said that it could be reflected whether the cells had a nucleus or not and the similarities and differences between one and the other were reflected. It is important to mention that there is another classification of microorganisms, but these are studied separately from the living kingdom because they are taken as parasites found inside cells, these are viruses, prions and viroids. An investigation is currently being carried out where the creation of a new domain is proposed.
Following the principles of biology, there is continuity, which gives prominence to the common organism called the ancestor of evolutionary life. Thanks to many studies, it was possible to show that every living being on earth has its genesis because it descends from an ancestor that formed a genetic code that passed from generation to generation, this is known as the common universal ancestor and it is believed that its appearance dates 3.5 billion years ago. This made the hypothesis that life forms could appear spontaneously, which emerged in the 19th century, totally abolished.
The homeostasis is also part of the principles of biology and is adapting to life changes. Each of the living beings that exist today, have their own homeostasis, as this is considered a property of open systems that give microorganisms the ability to regulate the internal media they have in order to continue with stable conditions of life, so that it can evolve without any problem. An example of what homeostasis is is Ph and body temperature.
Finally, the interaction between environments and groups of living beings. All living organisms interact with each other and although this makes their study difficult, since the reaction of a species can become aggressive or simply not act, however, it is a natural principle that cannot be avoided. Comparative research becomes complex, even more so if it is about species that live in the same ecosystem.
Biology areas
As mentioned previously, the biological sciences have a fairly broad classification, they are branches of biology that are responsible for studying a given biological discipline in a broad and thorough way. Over the years, new branches have emerged and each one is just as important as the previous ones, as one can help the other to discover infinities of aspects of living beings that had been ignored in the past.
Anatomy
It is a science that is responsible for studying the structure, location of organs, topography and the relationship of the organs that make up living beings.
Anthropology
It is a science that is responsible for studying human beings, making comparisons with animals and studying culture, non-biological traits that humanity possesses.
Bacteriology
The existence of this study is based on conducting research on bacteria found on earth and in any element of living beings.
Biospeleology
Science whose objective is to study living microorganisms that can be found in cavities that exist underground. These places are called Troglofauna.
Biophysics
This is a fairly complex study, as it is not only based on studying biology, but also physics in conjunction with its laws and principles.
Marine biology
It is a study that is responsible for carrying out research on living beings in the marine habitat. It does not settle for animals, it also encompasses fauna and flora.
Mathematical biology
It is a study method in which, far from being disciplinary, it conducts biological research through mathematical mechanisms.
Synthetic biology
Synthetic biology is considered a type of life engineering because its bases are in building or carrying out quite complicated and complex systems with an inspiration based on biological systems, which are responsible for exercising functions that cannot exist naturally. Synthetic biology is carried out in laboratories to build entirely new life systems. These systems are programmed to carry out certain tasks, in addition, this branch has a main objective and is to design and develop both devices and biological parts and systems from scratch, that is, new ones.
Within these systems are cells and enzymes. This branch also has the capacity to redesign some pre-existing biological systems so that they fulfill more useful purposes than those previously stipulated.
In addition to the aforementioned, there is a type of synthetic biology called top-bottom and its function is to modify the forms of life that exist today, this is very different from what is known as wet artificial life because this The latter works by creating new forms of life and is known as the bottom-up system.
Now, many know each positive point that this branch of biology encompasses, but it is also known that there is some concern in the scientific community, one of these concerns has to do with biological terrorism and the scope that this can have in everyone in the creation of different viruses that can end the life of humanity. For these scientists, the abuse of synthetic biology represents a danger, since the thirst for knowledge would lead humanity to a premature catastrophe, an imminent extinction predicted by the sacred books and not followed by science.
Biomedicine
This word fully encompasses all the sciences related to human health or medicine. Here applies biochemistry, bioanalysis, chemistry, anatomy, embryology, genetics, histology, etc.
Biochemistry
Study all the chemical processes that can develop in the anatomy of living beings. It focuses on proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, etc.
Biotechnology
These are technological applications whose main objective is to study the interactions and mechanisms of living beings, so that it can modify or directly create a specific biological product.
Botany
This is the most extensive branch of biology, since it studies plants in a broad way, that is, from their main characteristics to their reproduction.
Cytology
It is about cell biology, a general study of cells. It studies its structure at a physiological biochemical level and, as the case may be, its pathology.
Cytogenetics
This is directly related to chromosomes, as it investigates everything related to them, from their structure to their function. Different techniques are used, all equally accurate.
Cytopathology
It is a discipline that aims to find and study the diseases that a living being may have at cellular levels.
Cytochemistry
Study whose focus is directed to the chemical composition of cells, their biological and molecular processes. All of this is carried out using special chemical instruments.
Chronobiology
It is nothing more than a branch of biology that has a specific purpose, this is to analyze each of the biological rhythms of living beings that currently exist, in addition, it is responsible for studying the structure of these same beings and keeping a count of the alterations and methods applied for its optimal regulation. The foundations of these important branches of biology are found in the existence of latent biological time in the organism of a living being, this applies both at the anatomical level and at the molecular level.
It is important to note that this branch was used for the first time to explain to the world when is the right time to use drugs, this includes their administration and consumption, in order to analyze their optimization, efficacy or, in specific cases, find a way to reduce the side effects that these may cause.
The chronology studies and analyzes different biological rhythms, including circadian rhythms, which do not have an exact periodicity, however, they are quite close to 24 hours and are consistent with the state of sleep and wakefulness. There is also the infradian rhythm, which fulfills a rhythmic period that passes 24 hours. The definition of this rhythm tends to classify the circa tidal, circalunar and circanual rhythm, all according to the common variations in them.
Chronobiology is considered a science of impact both gradually and rapidly for all living beings, in addition, living organisms will always tend to respond according to the set of internal clocks belonging to a specific course that, in turn, establish or determine infinities of variables very characteristic of physiology.
Ecology
Science that focuses on studying the interaction that living things have with the environment, likewise, investigates the reaction that they may have and their evolutionary index.
Embryology
This is a discipline of genetics and branch of biology that tracks the embryonic development of living beings.
Entomology
It is a branch of biological sciences that aims to study insects. The investigations go from its origin to its reproduction and death.
Biological epistemology
It is a discipline that studies the conceptual range of biology, that is, it seeks and supports the studies and research that scientists have carried out on this science.
Ethology
It is known for being the auxiliary science of biology that makes special monitoring of living beings to know how they act and interact in their ecosystems.
Evolution
It is responsible for studying the physical and cellular changes that living things have experienced over the years. These studies are documented for future research and comparisons.
Physiology
His studies cover everything that has to do with the correct functioning of the organism of living beings. The completed studies are taken into account in general medicine.
Genetics
Its function is to thoroughly investigate genetic inheritance and everything that has to do or has an interest in it.
Molecular Genetic
It is responsible for studying the function and structure of genes at the molecular level, paying attention to details that had not been noticed in general genetics.
Histology
It is a field of anatomy that studies, at microscopic levels, the cells and tissues of living beings.
Histochemistry
In this discipline, all studies are carried out using chemical components that generate accurate results on tissue investigations.
Immunology
It is the science that focuses on investigating and studying the immune system of living beings. From different points of view, this science is extremely important.
Mycology
Its purpose is to conduct studies on fungi, and while many may think it is short, it is actually one of the most extensive branches of biological science.
Microbiology
Analyze and study microorganisms, their changes, reactions, evolution and types. This science will always be used to study living organisms.
Organography
It is about the plant anatomy of plants. Study your system, organs and changes that they may have over the years.
parasitology
As its name implies, this auxiliary branch of biological sciences is responsible for investigating and studying parasitic organisms found within living beings.
Paleontology
Science whose main purpose is to study all organisms that came into being in the past. His research goes hand in hand with the study of fossils.
Taxonomy
Once all the relevant investigations of living things have been carried out, this science is in charge of grouping them according to their species and habitat.
Virology
His studies are aimed at viruses that can develop in the environment and that, in some way, manage to enter the organism of living beings.
Zoology
Study and classify all the animals that exist on planet earth from different areas, anatomy, physiology, etc. Currently there are many species of animals and others have become extinct.
Auxiliary Sciences of Biology
Just as there is a classification or branches that study different areas of the biological sciences, there are also a series of sciences that act in an auxiliary way in biology. One of them is physics, which is very important in terms of the transmission of nerve impulses and the way in which the fluids of a living being, for example, blood, act on its anatomy. With this auxiliary science, the laws of physics and the basic principles that govern biology can be applied without having alterations that could harm biological studies.
Another auxiliary science that biology has is chemistry. If this is united with the biological sciences, one is facing biochemistry which, as explained previously, is a study that covers the reactions that organisms may have against chemical products or conjugations. There are chemists that need a series of conditions so that they can work in studies related to living beings and each scientist has been in charge of carrying them out in the best possible way.
There is also mathematics, which supports the biological sciences to calculate the number of living organisms on the planet, classify them according to their species and maintain updated data not only in the broad field of biology, but in the rest of the world. the branches that serve as the basis to understand more what life is on earth. Mathematics has been used by scientists and biology scholars from the beginning of research to the present day and, thanks to it, there is a documented control of living beings in the world.
On the other hand, there is the climatology and the meteorology. Both sciences support biology in different ways. Climatology studies the temperature and the changes that atmospheric patterns may have for the correct existence of microorganisms in their ecosystems. Meteorology is in charge of examining the capacity for evolution of atmospheric weather. Both have been of great help to biological sciences since ancient times because rainfall and temperature levels can limit the studies of this science, but both intervene and clarify the doubts that arise.
Finally, there is geology, a science that helps the biological sciences to decipher and study all the characteristics of the earth's soil, its sedimentation, texture and height in the case of mountainous areas. This science is extremely important for biology due to the number of microorganisms that live in the soil and subsoil. With it, it becomes easier to study them and determine their life span according to their ecosystem and habitat.
