Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function,

growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy.[1] Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines. Among the most important topics are five unifying principles that can be said to be the fundamental axioms of modern biology:[2] 1. Cells are the basic unit of life 2. New species and inherited traits are the product of evolution 3. Genes are the basic unit of heredity 4. An organism regulates its internal environment to maintain a stable and constant condition 5. Living organisms consume and transform energy. Subdisciplines of biology are recognized on the basis of the scale at which organisms are studied and the methods used to study them: biochemistry examines the rudimentary chemistry of life; molecular biology studies the complex interactions of systems of biological molecules; cellular biology examines the basic building block of all life, the cell; physiology examines the physical and chemical functions of the tissues, organs, and organ systems of an organism; and ecology examines how various organisms interact and associate with their environment.[3] --The term biology in its modern sense appears to have been introduced independently by Karl Friedrich Burdach (1800), Gottfried Reinhold Treviranus (Biologie oder Philosophie der lebenden Natur, 1802), and JeanBaptiste Lamarck (Hydrogologie, 1802).[4][5] It is a classical compound inspired by the Greek word ???, bios, "life" and the suffix -????a, -logia, "study of." Although biology in its modern form is a relatively recent development, sciences related to and included within it have been studied since ancient times. Natural philosophy was studied as early as the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indian subcontinent, and China. However, the origins of modern biology and its approach to the study of nature are most often traced back to ancient Greece.[6] While the formal study of medicine dates back to Hippocrates (ca. 460 BC ca. 370 BC), it was Aristotle (384 BC 322 BC) who contributed most extensively to the development of

biology. Especially important are his History of Animals and other works where he showed naturalist leanings, and later more empirical works that focused on biological causation and the diversity of life. Aristotle's successor at the Lyceum, Theophrastus, wrote a series of books on botany that survived as the most important contribution of antiquity to the plant sciences, even into the Middle Ages. Scholars of the medieval Islamic world who wrote on biology included alJahiz (781869), Al-Dinawari (828896), who wrote on botany,[7] and Rhazes (865925) who wrote on anatomy and physiology. Medicine was especially well studied by Islamic scholars working in Greek philosopher traditions, while natural history drew heavily on Aristotelian thought, especially in upholding a fixed hierarchy of life. Biology began to quickly develop and grow with Antony van Leeuwenhoek's dramatic improvement of the microscope. It was then that scholars discovered spermatozoa, bacteria, infusoria and the sheer strangeness and diversity of microscopic life. Investigations by Jan Swammerdam led to new interest in entomology and built the basic techniques of microscopic dissection and staining.[8]

Advances in microscopy also had a profound impact on biological thinking itself. In the early 19th century, a number of biologists pointed to the central importance of the cell. In 1838 and 1839, Schleiden and Schwann began promoting the ideas that (1) the basic unit of organisms is the cell and (2) that individual cells have all the characteristics of life, although they opposed the idea that (3) all cells come from the division of other cells. Thanks to the work of Robert Remak and Rudolf Virchow, however, by the 1860s most biologists accepted all three tenets of what came to be known as cell theory.[9] Meanwhile, taxonomy and classification became a focus in the study of natural history. Carolus Linnaeus published a basic taxonomy for the natural world in 1735 (variations of which have been in use ever since), and in the 1750s introduced scientific names for all his species.[10] GeorgesLouis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, treated species as artificial categories and living forms as malleableeven suggesting the possibility of common descent. Though he was opposed to evolution, Buffon is a key figure in the history of evolutionary thought; his work influenced the evolutionary theories of both Lamarck and Darwin.[11]

Serious evolutionary thinking originated with the works of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck. However, it was the British naturalist Charles Darwin, combining the biogeographical approach of Humboldt, the uniformitarian geology of Lyell, Thomas Malthus's writings on population growth, and his own morphological expertise, that created a more successful evolutionary theory based on natural selection; similar reasoning and evidence led Alfred Russel Wallace to independently reach the same conclusions.[12] The discovery of the physical representation of heredity came along with evolutionary principles and population genetics. In the 1940s and early 1950s, experiments pointed to DNA as the component of chromosomes that held genes. A focus on new model organisms such as viruses and bacteria, along with the discovery of the double helical structure of DNA in 1953, marked the transition to the era of molecular genetics. From the 1950s to present times, biology has been vastly extended in the molecular domain. The genetic code was cracked by Har Gobind Khorana, Robert W. Holley and Marshall Warren Nirenberg after DNA was understood to contain codons. Finally, the Human Genome Project was launched in 1990 with the goal of mapping the general human genome. This project was essentially completed in 2003,[13] with further analysis still being published. The Human Genome Project was the first step in a globalized effort to incorporate accumulated knowledge of biology into a functional, molecular definition of the human body and the bodies of other organisms. ---Branches of Biology Biology, the study of life, has many aspects to it and many specializations within this broad field. Below is an alphabetical list of many of the branches of biology. Agriculture - study of producing crops from the land, with an emphasis on practical applications Anatomy - the study of the animal form, with an emphasis on human bodies Biochemistry - the study of the chemical reactions required for life to exist and function, usually a focus on the cellular level Bioengineering - the study of biology through the means of engineering with an emphasis on applied knowledge and especially related to biotechnology.

Bioinformatics - also classified as a branch of information technology (IT) it is the study, collection, and storage of genomic data Biomathematics or Mathematical Biology - the study of biological processes through mathematics, with an emphasis on modeling. Biomechanics - often considered a branch of medicine, the study of the mechanics of living beings, with an emphasis on applied use through artificial limbs, etc. Biophysics - the study of biological processes through physics, by applying the theories and methods traditionally used in the physical sciences Biotechnology - a new and sometimes controversial branch of biology that studies the manipulation of living matter, including genetic modification Botany - the study of plants Cell Biology - the study of the cell as a complete unit, and the molecular and chemical interactions that occur within a living cell. Conservation Biology - the study of the preservation, protection, or restoration of the natural environment, natural ecosystems, vegetation, and wildlife Cryobiology - the study of the effects of lower than normally preferred temperatures on living beings. Developmental Biology - the study of the processes through which an organism develops, from zygote to full structure. Ecology - the study of the ecosystem as a complete unit, with an emphasis on how species and groups of species interact with other living beings and non-living elements. Entomology - the study of insects Environmental Biology - the study of the natural world, as a whole or in a particular area, especially as affected by human activity Epidemiology - a major component of public health research, it is the study of factors affecting the health and illness of populations Ethology - the study of animal behavior.

Evolution or Evolutionary Biology - the study of the origin and decent of species over time Genetics - the study of genes and heredity. Herpetology - the study of reptiles (and amphibians?) Histology - The study of cells and tissue, a microscopic branch of anatomy. Ichthyology - the study of fish Macrobiology - the study of biology on the level of the macroscopic individual (plant, animal, or other living being) as a complete unit.

Pathobiology or pathology - the study of diseases, and the causes, processes, nature, and development of disease Parisitology - the study of parasites and parasitism Pharmacology - the study and practical application of preparation, use, and effects of drugs and synthetic medicines. Physiology - the study of the functioning of living organisms and the organs and parts of living organisms Phytopathology - the study of plant disease Pre-medicine - a college major that covers the general aspects of biology as well as specific classes relevant to the study of medicine

Mammology - the study of mammals Marine Biology - the study of ocean ecosystems, plants, animals, and other living beings. Medicine - the study of the human body in health and disease, with allopathic medicine focusing on alleviating or curing the body from states of disease Microbiology - the study of microscopic organisms (microorganisms) and their interactions with other living things Molecular Biology - the study of biology and biological functions at the molecular level, some cross over with biochemistry Mycology - the study of fungi Neurobiology - the study of the nervous system, including anatomy, physiology, even pathology Oceanography - the study of the ocean, including ocean life, environment, geography, weather, and other aspects influencing the ocean. See Marine Biology Ornithology - the study of birds Paleontology - the study of fossils and sometimes geographic evidence of prehistoric life

Virology - the study of viruses and some other virus-like agents, usually considered part of microbiology or pathology Zoology - the study of animals and animal life, including classification, physiology, development, and behavior (See also Entomology, Ethology, Herpetology, Ichthyology, Mammology, Ornithology --Scientific method refers to a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge.[1] To be termed scientific, a method of inquiry must be based on gathering empirical and measurable evidence subject to specific principles of reasoning.[2] The Oxford English Dictionary says that scientific method is: "a method of procedure that has characterized natural science since the 17th century, consisting in systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses."[3]

Although procedures vary from one field of inquiry to another, identifiable features distinguish scientific inquiry from other methods of obtaining knowledge. Scientific researchers propose hypotheses as explanations of phenomena, and design experimental studies to test these hypotheses via predictions which can be derived from them. These steps must be repeatable, to guard against mistake or confusion in any particular experimenter. Theories that encompass wider domains of inquiry may bind

many independently derived hypotheses together in a coherent, supportive structure. Theories, in turn, may help form new hypotheses or place groups of hypotheses into context.

Scientific inquiry is generally intended to be as objective as possible, to reduce biased interpretations of results. Another basic expectation is to document, archive and share all data and methodology so they are available for careful scrutiny by other scientists, giving them the opportunity to verify results by attempting to reproduce them. This practice, called full disclosure, also allows statistical measures of the reliability of these data to be established. ---Since Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen, 9651039), one of the key figures in the development of scientific method, the emphasis has been on seeking truth: Truth is sought for its own sake. And those who are engaged upon the quest for anything for its own sake are not interested in other things. Finding the truth is difficult, and the road to it is rough.[6] ---In epistemology and in its modern sense, rationalism is "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification" (Lacey 286). In more technical terms, it is a method or a theory "in which the criterion of the truth is not sensory but intellectual and deductive" (Bourke 263). Different degrees of emphasis on this method or theory lead to a range of rationalist standpoints, from the moderate position "that reason has precedence over other ways of acquiring knowledge" to the more extreme position that reason is "the unique path to knowledge" (Audi 771). Given a pre-modern understanding of reason, "rationalism" is identical to philosophy, the Socratic life of inquiry, or the zetetic interpretation of authority (open to the underlying or essential cause of things as they appear to our sense of certainty). In recent decades, Leo Strauss sought to revive Classical Political Rationalism as a discipline that understands the task of reasoning, not as foundational, but as maieutic. Rationalism should not be confused with rationality.

1: problem 2: research 3:hypothesis 4:experiment 5:data(analysis) 6: results 7: conclusion # State the Problem - A problem can't be solved if it isn't understood. # Form a Hypothesis - This is a possible solution to the problem formed after gathering information about the problem. The term "research" is properly applied here. # Test the Hypothesis - An experiment is performed to determine if the hypothesis solves the problem or not. Experiments are done to gather data. It is very important that good observations and records are made during an experiment. # Collect the Data - This is where you record your observations, measurements, or information from experiment. # Analyze the Data - Just what does all that data indicate about answering the problem you are solving? # Draw Conclusions - After examining the data from the experiment, conclusions can be drawn. In it's simplest form, the conclusion will be "yes" the hypothesis was correct, or "no" theP hypothesis was not correct.

these are the seven steps of the scientific method