Branches of Biology Guest Author - Alegra Bartzat 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. 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 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 diseases Pre-medicine - a college major that covers the general aspects of biology as well as specific classes relevant to the study of medicine 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

Taxonomy Taxonomy is the classification of organisms. The most common system in use today is the Five Kingdoms system of classification. In this system all organisms are divided into five kingdoms: Monera (Prokaryota), Protista, Fungi, Plantae, andAnimalia. Organisms in each kingdom are divided into phyla. In each phylum, organisms are separated into classes. In each class, organisms are segregated into orders. In each order, organisms are divided into families. In each family, organisms are separated by genus. And finally, in each genus organisms are divided into species. Just remember that King Philip Can Order For German Students. KINGDOM: n the Linnaean taxonomic system, the highest taxonomic classification into which organisms are grouped, based on fundamental similarities and common ancestry. The Linnaean system designates five such classifications: animals, plants, fungi, prokaryotes, and protoctists. PHYLUM: A primary division of a kingdom, as of the animal kingdom, ranking next above a class in size. CLASS: taxonomic category ranking below a phylum or division and above an order. ORDER: A taxonomic category of organisms ranking above a family and below a class. FAMILY: A taxonomic category of related organisms ranking below an order and above a genus. A family usually consists of several genera. GENUS: A taxonomic category ranking below a family and above a species and generally consisting of a group of species exhibiting similar characteristics. In taxonomic nomenclature the genus name is used, either alone or followed by a Latin adjective or epithet, to form the name of a species. SPECIE: A fundamental category of taxonomic classification, ranking below a genus or subgenus and consisting of related organisms capable of interbreeding. An organism belonging to such a category, represented in binomial nomenclature by an uncapitalized Latin adjective or noun following a capitalized genus name, as in Ananas comosus, the pineapple, andEquus caballus, the horse. Kingdom Monera All organisms in the Kingdom Monera are prokaryotes. They lack nuclei and organelles and most of their cell walls are made of peptidoglycan (the exceptions are the archaebacteria). Most utilize flagella for movement. Digestion is extracellular (outside the cell) and nutrients are absorbed into the cell. Many prokaryotes are organized by how the metabolize resources.Autotrophs manufacture their own organic compounds. Heterotrophs obtain their energy by feeding on other organic substances. Saprophytes, a special kind of heterotroph, obtain energy by feeding on decaying matter. Some bacteria live insymbiotic relationships with other organisms. In parasitism, harm is caused to the host. In commensalism, one organism benefits while the other is unaffected. In mutualism, both organisms benefit.

Circulation and digestion in Kingdom Monera is accomplished through diffusion. Respiration in these organisms vary. In obligate aerobes, the prokaryotes must have oxygen to live. In obligate anaerobes, the organisms cannot survive in the presence of oxygen. And in facultative anaerobes they can survive with or without oxygen. Most organisms in the Kingdom Monera reproduce through binary fission(asexual) or conjugation (sexual). Recently, biologists have identified two distinct groups within Monera. The archaebacteria have cell walls that lack peptidoglycan, cell membranes that utilize different lipids, and ribosomes similar to those found in eukaryotes. The eubacteria ("true bacteria") are characterized by how they metabolize resources, their means of motility, and their shape. The three basic shapes arecocci (spherical), bacillus (rod shaped), and spirillum (spirals).

Kingdom Protista Protists are grouped according to whether they are animal-like, plant-like, or fungus-like. Animal-like protists are called protozoans. They are unicellular and parasitic. Digestion in protozoans is intracellular. Circulation, respiration, and excretion are accomplished through diffusion. Most reproduce through binary fission (asexual) although some utilize conjugation (sexual). Plant-like protists contain chlorophyll. They are both unicellular and multicellular (although multicellular forms have no organs or tissues). Kingdom Fungi In general, fungi are multicellular, parasitic or saprophytic, and have cell walls made of chitin. Digestion is extracellular. Rhizoids secrete enzymes and reabsorb the digested nutrients. Circulation, respiration, and excretion occur through diffusion. Reproduction can be asexual through spores or sexual where strains of fungi meet. Kingdom Plantae In general, all plants have chlorophyll, cell walls of cellulose, and tissues and organs. Biologists have theorized that plants evolved from algae since both plants and algae have chloroplasts with chlorophyll, cell walls of cellulose, glucose stored as starch, and alternation of generations. Kingdom Animalia Animals are heterotrophic, multicellular organisms with organs or tissues. Most are mobile or have a mobile life stage. All have a larval or embryonic stage of development. Animals also exhibit different kinds of symmetry: asymmetry, spherical, radial, and bilateral.

Finally, animals can be invertebrates (no backbone) or vertebrates (with backbone). SOURCE: http://library.thinkquest.org/28751/review/5kingdom/1.html

Biotechnology 1. What is biotechnology? Biotechnology is the application of biological knowledge to obtain new techniques, materials and compounds of pharmaceutical, medical, agrarian, industrial and scientific use, i.e., of practical use. The pioneer fields of biotechnology were agriculture and the food industry but nowadays many other practical fields use its techniques.

2. What is genetic engineering? Genetic engineering is the use of genetic knowledge to artificially manipulate genes: It is one of the fields of biotechnology.

3. At the present level of the biotechnology what are the main techniques of genetic engineering? The main techniques of genetic engineering today are: the recombinant DNA technology (also called genetic engineering itself) in which pieces of genes from an organism are inserted into the genetic material of another organism producing recombinant beings; the nucleus transplantation technology, popularly known as cloning, in which a nucleus of a cell is grafted into a enucleated egg cell of the same species to create a genetic copy of the donor (of the nucleus) individual; the technology of DNA amplification, or PCR (polymerase chain reaction), that allows millions replications of chosen fragments of a DNA molecule. The recombinant DNA technology is used to create transgenic organisms, like mutant insulin-producing bacteria. The nucleus transplantation technology is in its initial development but it is the basis, for example, of the creation of Dolly the sheep. PCR has numerous practical uses, as in medical tests to detect microorganisms present in blood and tissues, DNA fingerprint and obtainment of DNA samples for research. 4. What are restriction enzymes? How do these enzymes participate in the recombinant DNA technology? Restriction enzymes, or restriction endonucleases, are enzymes specialized in the cutting of DNA fragments each acting upon specific sites of the DNA molecule. Restriction enzymes are used in the recombinant DNA technology to obtain with precision pieces of DNA molecules to be later inserted into other DNA molecules cut by the same enzymes. Image Diversity: recombinant DNA technology restriction enzymes

5. What are DNA ligases? How do these enzymes participate in the recombinant DNA technology? DNA ligases are enzymes specialized in tying the complementary DNA chains that form the DNA double helix. These enzymes are used in the recombinant DNA technology to insert pieces of DNA cut by restriction enzymes into other DNA molecules submitted to the action of the same endonucleases. Image Diversity: DNA ligases

6. What are plasmids? Plasmids are circular DNA molecules present in the genetic material of some bacteria. They may contain genes responsible for bacterial resistance to some antibiotics and for proteins that cause virulence (pathogenic hostility). Image Diversity: plasmid

7. How is genetic engineering used to create bacteria capable of producing human insulin? In the production of human insulin by bacteria the human insulin gene is incorporated into the genetic material of these microorganisms. The mutant bacteria multiply forming lineages of insulin-producing bacteria. In bacteria there are circular strands of DNA called plasmids, minichromosomes which act as an accessory to the main DNA. To create a mutant bacteria capable of producing insulin a plasmid is submitted to the action of restriction enzymes (restriction endonucleases) specialized in cutting DNA fragments. The once circular plasmid is open by the restriction enzyme. The same enzyme is used to cut a human DNA molecule containing the insulin gene. The piece of human DNA containing the insulin gene then has its extremities bound to the plasmid with the help of DNA ligases. The recombinant plasmid containing the human insulin gene is then inserted into the bacteria. Another human hormone already produced by recombinant bacteria is GH (somatotropin, or growth hormone). The insertion of DNA molecules into cells of an individual is also the method of the gene therapy, a promising treatment for genetic diseases. In gene therapy cells from an organism deficient in the production of a given protein receive (by means of vectors, e.g., virus) pieces of DNA containing the protein gene and they then begin to synthesize the protein.

8. What is cloning? Cloning is the making of an organism genetically identical to another by means of genetic engineering. The basis of cloning is the nucleus transplantation technology. A nucleus from a cell is extracted, generally from an embryonic (not differentiated) cell and this nucleus is inserted into a previously enucleated reproductive cell (in general an egg cell); the egg is then implanted in the organ where the embryonic development will take place. If embryonic development occurs the new organism will have identical genetic patrimony to the organism owner of the cell whose nucleus was used in the transplantation. Image Diversity: genetic cloning Dolly the sheep

9. What is PCR? How does PCR works? PCR, polymerase chain reaction, is a method to synthesize many copies of specific regions of a DNA molecule known as target-regions. Its inventor, Kary Mullis, won the Nobel prize for Chemistry in 1993. First, the DNA to be tested is heated to cause the double helix to rupture and the polynucleotide chains to be exposed. Then small synthetic sequences of DNA known as primers and containing nucleotide sequences similar to the sequences of the extremities of the region to be studied (for example, a region containing a known gene exclusive of a given organism) are added. The primers paired with the original DNA in the extremities of the gene to be amplified. Enzymes known as polymerases, that catalyze DNA replication, and nucleotide supply are added. The primers then are completed and the chosen region is replicated. In the presence of more primers and more nucleotides millions of copies of that specific region are generated. (PCR is very sensitive even using a minimal amount of DNA). Image Diversity: polymerase chain reaction 10. What is the fact of Molecular Biology on which DNA fingerprint is based? DNA fingerprint, the method of individual identification using DNA, is based on the fact that the DNA of every individual (with exception of identical twins and individual clones) contains nucleotide sequences exclusive to each individual. Although normal individuals of the same species have the same genes in their chromosomes, each individual has different alleles and even in the inactive portions of the chromosomes (heterochromatin) there are differences in nucleotide sequences among individuals.

Genetics 1. What is a gene? A gene is a sequence of DNA nucleotides that codifies the production of a protein. Image Diversity: DNA molecule

3. How is the concept of chromosome related to the concept of the gene? A chromosome is a DNA molecule. A chromosome may contain several different genes and also DNA portions that are not genes. Image Diversity: chromosome 5. What are alleles of a gene? Diploid individuals have paired chromosomes. For example in humans there are 23 pairs of chromosomes totaling 46 chromosomes. Each pair comprehends homologous chromosomes, one chromosome from the father and another from the mother, both of them containing information related to the production of the same proteins (with the exception of the sex chromosomes, which are partially heterologous). So in the diploid individual it is said that each gene has two alleles, one in each chromosome of the homologous pair. 6. Are the alleles of a gene necessarily originated one from the father and the other from the mother? Are there exceptions? It is natural that alleles have come one from the father and the other from the mother but it is not obligatory. In a clone generated by nucleus transplantation technology, for example, the alleles come from a single individual. In polysomies (as in trisomy 21) each gene of the affected chromosome has three alleles, in trisomies, or four, in tetrasomies.

7. What is a phenotype? A phenotype is every observable characteristic of a living being conditioned by its genes. Some phenotypes may be altered by nongenetic factors (for example, artificial hair coloring). Specific phenotypes are also called phenotypical traits.

8. What is a genotype? What is the difference between genotype and phenotype?

Genotype is the genes, DNA nucleotide sequences contained in the chromosomes of an individual, that condition the phenotype. Phenotypes then are a biological manifestation of genotypes. For example, the altered hemoglobin chain of sickle cell disease and the manifestation of the disease itself are the phenotype. The altered DNA nucleotide sequence in the gene that codifies the production of that abnormal hemoglobin chain is the genotype.

Ecology 1. What is biodiversity? Biological diversity is the variety of species of living beings of an ecosystem. In ecosystems which are more biodiverse, like tropical forests, a great variety of plants, microorganisms and animals live; in ecosystems less biodiverse, like deserts, there are less variety of living beings. 8. What are the main causes of the loss of biological diversity nowadays? The biggest dangers to biological diversity today are the action of humans. The main of them is the destruction of habitats caused by the growth of the cities, deforestation, pollution and fires. The second is the invasion of ecosystems by nonnative species introduced by humans; these species change the equilibrium of ecosystems causing harm. Other big dangers are predatory hunting and fishing and global warming. 1. What is ecological succession? Ecological succession is the changing sequence of communities that live in an ecosystem during a given time period. Image Diversity: ecological succession

2. What are pioneer species? What is the role of the pioneer species? Pioneer species are those first species that colonize places where previously there were no living beings, like, for example, algae that colonize bare rocks. In general, pioneer species are autotrophs or those that maintain harmonious ecological interaction with autotrophic beings (like autotrophic bacteria, herbaceous plants, lichens). The pioneer community is formed of species able to survive under hostile environments. The presence of these species modifies the microenvironment generating changes in abiotic and biotic factors of the ecosystem undergoing formation. Therefore they open the way to other species to establish in the place by the creation of new potential ecological niches.

3. What is the difference between primary ecological succession and secondary ecological succession? Primary ecological succession is the changing sequence of communities from the first biological occupation of a place where previously there were no

living beings. For example, the colonization and the following succession of communities on a bare rock. Secondary ecological succession is the changing sequence of communities from the substitution of a community by a new one in a given place. For example, the ecological succession of the invasion of plants and animals in an abandoned crop or land. 4. What is the climax stage of an ecological succession? The climax stage is the stage of the ecological succession in which the community of an ecosystem becomes stable and does not undergo significant changes. In the climax community practically all ecological niches are explored and greater biodiversity is possible. In this stage the biomass, the photosynthesis rate and the cellular respiration reach their maximum levels and thus the net primary production (NPP = organic material made by the producers organic material consumed in the cellular respiration of the producers) tends to zero. At the climax the amount of oxygen released by photosynthesis is practically equal to the oxygen consumed by respiration. (This is one more reason why it is wrong to say that the Amazon Rainforest, an ecosystem at climax stage, is the lung of the earth. Other reasons are: lungs are not producers of oxygen; the algae and cyanobacteria of the phytoplankton are the main producers of the molecular oxygen of the planet.)

5. How do biodiversity, the total number of living beings and the biomass respectively vary during the ecological succession? Biodiversity, the number of living beings and the biomass of an ecosystem tend to increase as the succession progresses and they stabilize when the climax stage is reached. At the initial stage of the succession the use of carbon dioxide and the fixation of carbon into the biomass are high, since the total number of living beings in the ecosystem is increasing. At the climax stage the use of carbon dioxide by photosynthesis equals the production by cellular respiration and the fixation of carbon into the biomass tends to zero.