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BiologyBiology is the science of life. It is concerned with the characteristics and behaviors of organisms, how species and individuals come into existence, and the interactions they have with each other and with their environment.
Overview of biology
Biology encompasses a broad spectrum of academic fields that are often viewed as independent disciplines. Together, they study life over a wide range of scales:
- at the atomic and molecular scale, through molecular biology, biochemistry, and to some extent genetics
- at the cellular scale, through cell biology
- at the multicellular scales, through physiology, anatomy, and histology
- at the level of the development or ontogeny of an individual organism, through developmental biology
- at the level of heredity between parent and offspring through genetics
- at the level of group behavior through ethology
- at the level of an entire population, through population genetics
- on the multi-species scale of lineages, through systematics
- at the level of interdependent populations and their habitats through ecology and evolutionary biology
- and speculatively through xenobiology at the level of life beyond the Earth.
Fields of study in biology
Aerobiology -- Anatomy -- Arachnology-- Astrobiology -- Biochemistry -- Bionics -- Biogeography -- Bioinformatics -- Biomechanics -- Biophysics-- Biotechnology -- Botany -- Cell biology -- Chorology -- Cladistics -- Crustaceology -- Cryptozoology -- Cycles -- Cytology -- Developmental biology -- Disease (Genetic diseases, Infectious diseases) -- Ecology (Theoretical ecology, Symbiology, Autecology, Synecology) -- Ethology -- Entomology -- Evolutionary biology (Evolution) -- Evolutionary developmental biology -- Freshwater biology -- Genetics (Population genetics, Quantitative genetics, Genomics, Proteomics) -- Herpetology -- Histology -- Human biology (Anthropology) -- Ichthyology -- Immunology -- Infectious diseases -- Pathology -- Epidemiology -- Limnology -- Malacology -- Mammalogy -- Marine biology -- Microbiology (Bacteriology) -- Molecular biology -- Morphology -- Mycology / Lichenology --- Myrmecology --- Neuroscience (Neuroanatomy, Neurophysiology, Systems neuroscience, Biological psychology, Psychiatry, Psychopharmacology, Behavioral science, Neuroethology, Psychophysics, Computational neuroscience, Cognitive neuroscience, Cognitive science)-- Oncology (the study of cancer) -- Ontogeny -- Origin of life -- Ornithology -- Paleontology (Paleobotany, Paleozoology)-- Parasitology -- Phycology (Algology) -- Phylogeny (Phylogenetics, Phylogeography) -- Physiology -- Phytopathology -- Structural biology -- Taxonomy -- Toxicology (the study of poisons and pollution) -- Virology -- Xenobiology -- Zoology
Related disciplines
Medicine -- Physical anthropology
People and history
Famous biologists -- History of biology -- Nobel prize in physiology or medicine -- Timeline of biology and organic chemistry
List of topics
See: List of biology topics
What are our priorities for writing in this area? To help develop a list of the most basic topics in biology, please see Wikipedia:biology basic topics.
Evolution and biology
One of the central, organizing concepts in biology is that all life has descended from a common origin through a process of evolution. Charles Darwin established evolution as a viable theory by articulating its driving force: natural selection. Genetic drift was embraced as an additional mechanism in the so-called modern synthesis. The evolutionary history of a species—which tells the characteristics of the various species from which it descended—together with its genealogical relationship to every other species is called its phylogeny. Widely varied approaches to biology generate information about phylogeny. These include the comparisons of DNA sequences conducted within molecular biology or genomics, and comparisons of fossils or other records of ancient organisms in paleontology. Biologists organize and analyze evolutionary relationships through various methods, including phylogenetics, phenetics, and cladistics. Major events in the evolution of life, as biologists currently understand them, are summarized on this evolutionary timeline.
Classification of life
The classification of living things is called systematics, or taxonomy, and should reflect the evolutionary trees (phylogenetic trees) of the different organisms. Taxonomy piles up organisms in groups called taxa, while systematics seeks their relationships. The dominant system is called Linnaean taxonomy, which includes ranks and binomial nomenclature. How organisms are named is governed by international agreements such as the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN), the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN), and the International Code of Nomenclature of Bacteria (ICNB). A fourth Draft BioCode was published in 1997 in an attempt to standardize naming in the three areas, but it does not appear to have yet been formally adopted. The International Code of Virus Classification and Nomenclature (ICVCN) remains outside the BioCode.
Traditionally, living things were divided into five kingdoms:
- Monera -- Protista -- Fungi -- Plantae -- Animalia
However, this five-kingdom system is now considered by many to be outdated. More modern alternatives generally begin with the three-domain system:
- Archaea (originally Archaebacteria) -- Bacteria (originally Eubacteria) -- Eukaryota
These domains reflect whether cells have nuclei or not as well as differences in cell exteriors.
There is also a series of intracellular "parasites" that are progressively less alive in terms of being metabolically active:
- Viruses -- Viroids -- Prions
History of the word "biology"
Formed by combining the Greek βίος (bios), meaning 'life', and λόγος (logos), meaning 'word', the word "biology" in its modern sense seems to have been introduced independently by Gottfried Reinhold Treviranus (Biologie oder Philosophie der lebenden Natur, 1802) and by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (Hydrogéologie, 1802). The word itself is sometimes said to have been coined in 1800 by Karl Friedrich Burdach, but it appears in the title of Volume 3 of Michael Christoph Hanov's Philosophiae naturalis sive physicae dogmaticae: Geologia, biologia, phytologia generalis et dendrologia, published in 1766.
See also
External links and resources
Links
Further reading
- Lynn Margulis, Five Kingdoms: An Illustrated Guide to the Phyla of Life on Earth, 3rd ed., St. Martin's Press, 1997, paperback, ISBN 0805072527 (many other editions)
- Neil Campbell, Biology: Concepts & Connections (4th edition), Benjamin-Cummings Publishing Company, 2002, hardcover, ISBN 080536627X (college-level text)
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Oklahoma City University - Department of Biology
Departmental index including degree information, faculty and staff directory, newsletter, courses, and contact information.
http://www.okcu.edu/biology/
Cornell University - Office of Undergraduate Biology
Overview of the department, core requirements, programs of study, advising, research, careers, alumni, and news.
http://www.bio.cornell.edu/
Penn State University - Department of Biology
Programs of study, research, news, seminars, and links. Also features online course materials for current students [login required].
http://www.bio.psu.edu/
Wesleyan University - Biology Department
Information on faculty, staff, programs, seminar series, clubs and Wesleyan Women in Science.
http://www.wesleyan.edu/bio/
Eastern Connecticut State University - Biology Department
Philosophy of the biology program, theoretical and applied course offerings, students, alumni, and related links.
http://biology.ecsu.ctstateu.edu/
Kent State University - Department of Biological Sciences
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http://dept.kent.edu/biology/
Stanford University - Department of Biological Sciences
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http://www.stanford.edu/dept/biology/
Oregon Health and Science University
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http://www.ohsu.edu/research/
Johns Hopkins University - Biology Department
The first biology department in the United States of America. Includes program details, events and news, contact directory, information about faculty and facilities, and links.
http://www.bio.jhu.edu/
Southwestern Adventist University - Department of Biology
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http://biology.swau.edu/
University of California at Davis - Division of Biological Sciences
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http://dbs.ucdavis.edu/
University of California at Santa Barbara - Biological Sciences
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http://lifesci.ucsb.edu/
University of Illinois at Springfield - Biology Department
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http://www.uis.edu/~biology/
University of Washington - Biology Program
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http://www.biology.washington.edu/biology/
Dartmouth College - Department of Biological Sciences
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http://www.dartmouth.edu/~biology/
Amherst College - Biology Department
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http://www.amherst.edu/~biology/
University of Chicago - Division of Biological Sciences
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http://www.bsd.uchicago.edu/
Howard University - Biology Department
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http://138.238.136.125/
Swarthmore College - Department of Biology
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http://www.swarthmore.edu/NatSci/Biology/
Williams College - Biology
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http://www.williams.edu/Biology/
The George Washington University - Department of Biological Sciences
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http://www.gwu.edu/~biology/
University of Pittsburgh - Department of Biological Sciences
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http://www.pitt.edu/~biology/
Washington University - Biology Department
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http://www.biology.wustl.edu/
University of California at Irvine - School of Biological Sciences
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http://www.bio.uci.edu/
Brandeis University - Life Sciences
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University of California at San Francisco - Program in Biological Sciences
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http://www.ucsf.edu/pibs/
Duke University - Department of Biology
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http://www.biology.duke.edu/
Loyola College - Department of Biology
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http://www.loyola.edu/biology/
University of Virginia - Department of Biology
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http://www.virginia.edu/~biology/
University of California at San Diego - Division of Biology
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http://www-biology.ucsd.edu/
University of California at Berkeley - Division of Biological Sciences
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http://biology.berkeley.edu/
Harvard University Undergraduate Biology
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http://biology.harvard.edu/
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology at Zurich - Department of Biology
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http://www.biol.ethz.ch/
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory - Watson School of Biological Sciences
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http://www.cshl.org/gradschool/
Dalhousie University - Biology Department
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http://is.dal.ca/~biology2/
Oklahoma State University - Biomedical Department
Offers M.S., Ph.D. and D.O./Ph.D. degrees in anatomy, biochemistry, cell biology, microbiology, pharmacology, and physiology.
http://www.healthsciences.okstate.edu/biomedical/index.htm
Brigham Young University - College of Biology and Agriculture
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http://bioag.byu.edu
Mississippi State University - Department of Biological Sciences
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http://www.msstate.edu/dept/BioSciences/
La Trobe University - Genetics
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Carnegie Mellon University - Department of Biological Sciences
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http://www.cmu.edu/bio/
Case Western Reserve University - Biology Department
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Emory University - Biology Department
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http://www.emory.edu/BIOLOGY/
Georgia Institute of Technology - School of Biology
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http://www.biology.gatech.edu/
The College of William and Mary - Department of Biology
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http://www.wm.edu/biology_new/
Rice University -- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
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Louisiana State University - Department of Biological Sciences
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University of Calgary - Department of Biological Sciences
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University of Paisley - Division of Biological Sciences
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Universiteit Utrecht (Netherlands) - Faculty of Biology
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University of Essex - Department of Biological Sciences
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Lehigh University - Department of Biological Sciences
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http://www.lehigh.edu/~inbios/
Indiana University - Department of Biology
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http://www.bio.indiana.edu/
University of Hawaii - Pacific Biomedical Research Center
PBRC is the third largest research institute at the University of Hawaii. Offers mission statement, faculty research interests, programs, facilities, minority training, news, and staff-only areas.
http://www.pbrc.hawaii.edu/
University of Tennessee - Division of Biology
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http://web.bio.utk.edu/division/
Galludet University - Department of Biology
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http://depts.gallaudet.edu/biology/
Baylor University - Biology Department
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http://www3.baylor.edu/Biology/Home_Page.html
University of Colorad - Department of Pharmacology and Graduate Program in Pharmacology
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Wayne State University - Cellular and Clinical Neurobiology
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St. Ambrose University - Biology Department
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UK University Biology and Bioscience Departments
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University of Illinois, Chicago - Department of Molecular Genetics
A resource on graduate study and research opportunities in the department's PhD program. Information on departmental affiliates, curriculum, seminars, links to numerous molecular genetics resources, and an on-line application.
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University of Miami School of Medicine - Biomedical Research Graduate Programs
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Mars Hill College - Biology and Health Sciences
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http://biology.mhc.edu
Loyola University Chicago - Department of Biology
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http://www.luc.edu/depts/biology/
University of Miami - Department of Biology
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http://fig.cox.miami.edu/
Wayne State University - Biological Sciences
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http://bio.wayne.edu
Purdue University - Department of Biological Sciences
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http://www.bio.purdue.edu/
Boston University - Biology Department
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http://www.bu.edu/biology/
New York University - Department of Biology
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http://www.nyu.edu/fas/dept/biology/
University of Pennsylvania - Department of Biology
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http://www.bio.upenn.edu/
University of Toledo - Department of Biological Sciences
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http://www.biosciences.utoledo.edu
San Diego State University - Biology
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http://www.bio.sdsu.edu/
Illinois State University - Department of Biological Sciences
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http://www.bio.ilstu.edu/
Princeton University - Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
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http://www.eeb.princeton.edu/
University of Florida - Biological Sciences Program
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http://www.bsc.ufl.edu/
Iowa State University - Biology Program
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http://www.biology.iastate.edu/
University of Texas - Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
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http://www.uthscsa.edu/gsbs/
Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Department of Biology
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http://web.mit.edu/biology/www/
Princeton University - Department of Molecular Biology
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http://www.molbio.princeton.edu/
Hollins University - Biology
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http://www.hollins.edu/undergrad/biology/biology.htm
California Institute of Technology - Biology Division
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http://www.its.caltech.edu/~biology/
University of Massachusetts at Amherst - Biology Department
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http://www.bio.umass.edu/biology/
Yale University - Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology
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http://www.biology.yale.edu/
Auburn University - Department of Biological Sciences
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http://www.auburn.edu/academic/science_math/biology/
Columbia University - Department of Biological Sciences
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http://www.columbia.edu/cu/biology/
Georgetown University - Biology Department
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http://www.georgetown.edu/departments/biology/
Wellesley College - Department of Biological Sciences
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http://www.wellesley.edu/Biology/biodept4.html
Brigham Young University - Plant and Animal Sciences
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http://pas.byu.edu/
University of Maryland - Biological Sciences
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http://www.umbc.edu/biosci/
University of Idaho - Department of Biological Sciences
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http://www.sci.uidaho.edu/biosci/
Lund University - Department of Cell and Organism Biology
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http://www.biol.lu.se/cellorgbiol/engindex.html
Emory University - Graduate Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences
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http://bmbsun.biochem.emory.edu/
Mayo Graduate School
Biomedical science postgraduate degrees. Includes admissions and summer fellowship information, the dean's perspective, and a description of benefits.
http://www.mayo.edu/mgs/
Berry College Department of Biology
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http://www.berry.edu/academics/science/biology/
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