Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary information encoded in genes, which can be transmitted to future generations. Another major theme is evolution, which explains the unity and diversity of life. Energy processing is also important to life as it allows organisms to move, grow, and reproduce. Finally, all organisms are able to regulate their own internal environments.
Biologists are able to study life at multiple levels of organization, from the molecular biology of a cell to the anatomy and physiology of plants and animals, and evolution of populations. Hence, there are multiple subdisciplines within biology, each defined by the nature of their research questions and the tools that they use. Like other scientists, biologists use the scientific method to make observations, pose questions, generate hypotheses, perform experiments, and form conclusions about the world around them.
Life on Earth, which emerged more than 3.7 billion years ago, is immensely diverse. Biologists have sought to study and classify the various forms of life, from prokaryotic organisms such as archaea and bacteria to eukaryotic organisms such as protists, fungi, plants, and animals. These various organisms contribute to the biodiversity of an ecosystem, where they play specialized roles in the cycling of nutrients and energy through their biophysical environment. ( Full article...)
Bacteria (
/bækˈtɪəriə/ (
listen); singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one
biological cell. They constitute a large
domain of
prokaryotic
microorganisms. Typically a few
micrometres in length, bacteria were among the first life forms to appear on
Earth, and are present in most of its
habitats. Bacteria inhabit soil, water,
acidic hot springs,
radioactive waste, and the
deep biosphere of
Earth's crust. Bacteria are vital in many stages of the
nutrient cycle by recycling nutrients such as the
fixation of nitrogen from the
atmosphere. The nutrient cycle includes the
decomposition of
dead bodies; bacteria are responsible for the
putrefaction stage in this process. In the biological communities surrounding
hydrothermal vents and
cold seeps,
extremophile bacteria provide the nutrients needed to sustain life by converting dissolved compounds, such as
hydrogen sulphide and
methane, to energy. Bacteria also live in
symbiotic and
parasitic relationships with plants and animals. Most bacteria have not been characterised and there are many species that cannot be
grown in the laboratory. The study of bacteria is known as
bacteriology, a branch of
microbiology.
Anning with her dog, Tray, painted before 1842; the hill
Golden Cap can be seen in the background |
Mary Anning (21 May 1799 – 9 March 1847) was an English fossil collector, dealer, and palaeontologist who became known around the world for the discoveries she made in Jurassic marine fossil beds in the cliffs along the English Channel at Lyme Regis in the county of Dorset in Southwest England. Anning's findings contributed to changes in scientific thinking about prehistoric life and the history of the Earth.
Anning searched for fossils in the area's Blue Lias and Charmouth Mudstone cliffs, particularly during the winter months when landslides exposed new fossils that had to be collected quickly before they were lost to the sea. Her discoveries included the first correctly identified ichthyosaur skeleton when she was twelve years old; the first two nearly complete plesiosaur skeletons; the first pterosaur skeleton located outside Germany; and fish fossils. Her observations played a key role in the discovery that coprolites, known as bezoar stones at the time, were fossilised faeces, and she also discovered that belemnite fossils contained fossilised ink sacs like those of modern cephalopods. ( Full article...)Anatomy - Anthropology - Astrobiology - Biochemistry - Bioengineering - Bioinformatics - Biotechnology - Botany - Cell biology - Conservation biology - Developmental biology - Ecology - Environmental science - Evolutionary biology - Genetics - Mathematical biology - Medicine - Microbiology - Immunology - Molecular biology - Mycology - Neuroscience - Paleontology - Palynology Parasitology - Pharmacology -
Phylogenetics - Physiology - Systems biology - Taxonomy - Toxicology - Virology - ZoologyWikiProjects connected with biology:
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