What is Biology: Definition and 598 Discussions

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 living 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. Finally, all living organisms require energy to move, grow, and reproduce, as well as to regulate their own internal environment.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, and perform experiments to learn 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 living organisms contribute to the biodiversity of an ecosystem, where they play specialized roles in the cycling of nutrients and energy.

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  1. mktsgm

    Are all biological catabolic reactions exergonic?

    Generally it is said that all biological catabolic reactions are exergonic. Famous example is ATP hydrolysis is exergonic. That's why it is called energy currency. Similarly breaking of glucose molecule into pyruvate also releases energy to form ATP. But in chemistry it is said that breaking of...
  2. W

    Biology teacher

    I am Wafaa Suleiman, Biology teacher....I teach at UNRWA schools in Lebanon
  3. michelefanti

    Advice for self-studying biophysics after my BSc in Physics

    TL;DR Summary: Briefly i'm asking for guidance through self-studying biophysics. Hello everyone, i've almost finished my bsc in physics and i got intrigued by biophysics, although my university doesn't provide courses for the subject. I wanted to get a grasp of the subject by myself but...
  4. BugKingpin

    Exploring the Physics of Gene Expression: A Math/Physics Major's Perspective

    Hello everyone, I am interested in researching the underlying physics of gene expression. I'm a junior in a math/physics double bachelors program.
  5. BillTre

    How many living cells on Earth?

    A NY Times article "Exactly How Much Life is on Earth?" (research article here, behind a paywall) says that there are about 1030 cells currently on earth and the total numbers of cells that will be on earth through its future lifespan is about 1041 cells. That is: It was implied in the...
  6. Dr Keryn Johnson

    Can Quantum Biology Unlock the Secrets of Regenerative Medicine?

    Hi, I am new here. I expect that most people will find my approach to science interesting because I do not do standard physics. I do SUSY inversion and the He-BEC DE DM model corresponding to a revision of quark charge calculations giving rise to Baryonic symmetry.
  7. T

    From South Warrandyte Victoria Australia

    No Idea what I am expected to disclose here????
  8. cutielollipop

    Chemistry Enthalpy of Formation of ZnO lab

    Experiment equation: Zn(s) + 2HCL(aq) -> 2ZnCl(aq) + H2(g) a) If the the mass of zinc solid used was doubled, what effect would this have on temperature change? Answer: if mass of zinc increases, there will be an increase in zinc particles which increases the collisions between particles and...
  9. C

    How a-priori intelligence is even possible?

    By a-priori intelligence I mean for example: 1. when a human toddler is born he's born with the intelligence to seek for a breast to feed on. 2. sea turtles - the moment they are born on the beach they know that they must immediately to run into the ocean. 3. baby ducks - the first duck they see...
  10. C

    How does one check life signs of an insect?

    Suppose some insect is squashed, let's consider a spider for example; suppose it doesn't move and doesn't react to external stimuli but is still alive; the observer doesn't know this and he wants to determine for sure if the spider is still alive. How does he do this?
  11. C

    Saltwater fish in Freshwater diluted with salt

    Suppose I dilute a freshwater tank with an appropriate amount of salt, will saltwater fish be able to live in it? if not, then why?
  12. M

    Admissions Graduate school admission chances

    I am an RA currently (just a few months in) in a microbiology lab and also did undergraduate research in an HIV lab. I graduated with a 3.76 with an upward trajectory and am considering grad (PhD) school. My questions are two fold: 1. What in general are my chances for getting into a good grad...
  13. D

    What is the Connection Between Biology and Cosmology?

    More of a biology person but always had an interest in cosmology as well.
  14. S

    Origin of Korotkoff sounds

    What is the "official" thinking today about the origin of Korotkoff sounds? Has this 2015 paper found general acceptance? https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1933171115007068 The idea IIUC is that the stretched arterial wall acts as a resonant system, and what we hear are...
  15. Astronuc

    Science Fair winner studies Claudin-5, a potential biomarker

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/16-old-pocketed-50-000-135300578.html https://fluidsbarrierscns.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12987-019-0123-z I have read that chronic stress increases levels of cytokines. It's complicated. https://academic.oup.com/jes/article/3/7/1302/5489212...
  16. B

    What is the Impact of Community Engagement on Science Education?

    Hi, My name is Brandy and I am a biology major and a sophomore taking intro to physics this summer! i am excited to get to know the community.
  17. L

    Admissions DOE SULI Advice For Biology Background - Renewable Energy Development

    Hi Everyone! I am an upperclassmen undergrad of a biol background, with mainly course training in biochemistry and molecular biol, and taken chem like o-chem and a-chem, and introductory physics. I have three short term summer projects at top 5 institutions in the past and in the field of...
  18. murshid_islam

    Medical What are some cases (if any) of people coming back from the dead?

    I am looking for cases (if any) where patients were pronounced dead by doctors and then came back to life. Are there any such cases? I am not looking for cases of near-death experiences. I'm also not looking for cases where patients were mistakenly declared dead when they were still alive.
  19. Pythagorean

    Biological culture and cultural biology

    Curious if there's a good keyword or named discipline for these kinds of questions: To what extent does biology determine culture? For example, if you took two cultures, one raised by the sea and another in the mountains, then rewound and switched places, how much would their culture simply...
  20. ChanYeol

    I am making an alien race and need help with their biology

    I would like a reason why their blood is Cooper/ Rose gold color. They evolve from a dinosaur bird like creature but in their current timeline they are human looking. One of their most strange characteristic is they got cooper looking veins and their blood is rose-gold color. Which gave the...
  21. BillTre

    Is Biology the Misunderstood Science?

    If mathematics is the queen of the sciences because it can be applied in so many different situations. And physics is the king of the sciences because its rules underlie everything in other fields, Then biology is: a nightmare of complexity (many, way too complicated to calculate situations) a...
  22. B

    Switching from Biology undergrad to Physics grad....

    I will try to keep this concise. I have always loved physics, but was convinced by my parents to pursue biology for career in medicine. Over my undergrad, it really became clear to me that I love physics, and want to pursue a career in the field (a Master's, and then a PHD). I am currently in...
  23. samy4408

    Medical Question about the synthesis of fatty acids

    Hello , in the course of fatty acids synthesis the professor said that after the repetition of the cycle 7 times we end up with a 16 carbon chain and he added that all the carbons came from acetyl-COA except for one . i didn't understand the last one , what is the carbon that don't come from...
  24. BillTre

    Biological Info: Understanding & Analyzing

    "Biological Information" is a common concept in some parts of biology. It most often (in my experience) is used to refer to the sequence information in nucleic acids (nucleotide sequences in RNA and DNA) and in proteins (amino acid sequences in proteins). This is most apparent in the flow of...
  25. BillTre

    Exploring the Interplay of Structure and Function in Biology

    Physics has the concepts of mass and energy, and has the combined concept of space-time. Similarly, biology has lots of information about biological structures (going from big body parts down to the atomic structure of complex molecules. Additionally, there is a lot known about about biological...
  26. BillTre

    Synthetic Biology, What Might It Do?

    Here is an NY Times article on Drew Endy, synthetic biology evangelist. (I like hearing what's going on the this field from time to time.) As biological techniques continue to progress more becomes possible from a go out and change it point of view. There are many opinions about this, as...
  27. ergospherical

    Human behavioural biology lectures

    I gotten randomly hooked on this lecture series by Prof Sapolsky, I thought I'd share in case anybody felt like giving them a watch or discussing some things you found interesting
  28. B

    Other Working in a biology lab for a physics/biophysics major

    I was wondering if it is of any value for someone interested in physics/Biophysics grad school and a Biophysics career to be working in a biology lab? I'm an undergraduate physics major concentrating in biophysics in the US and I have an offer to work in a cancer biology lab. It's very much...
  29. 1

    Biology Why do these biology textbooks write 'differential' as an adjective?

    Are these books using 'differential' correctly? Why not just write 'different'? 1. Handbook of the Biology of Aging edited by Edward J. Masoro, Steven N. Austad. p 480. 2. The Cambridge Companion to the Philosophy of Biology edited by David L. Hull, Michael Ruse. p 46. 3. p 78. 4. Dictionary...
  30. B

    How can I improve my pulse oximetry measurements?

    I wrote a program that uses your computer camera to monitor your Pulse Oximetry and get your heart rate. I got the program to work. I can see the heart beat in my graph. Anyhow, I set my timer interval to 0.0226757 ms which is 44100 hz. so I have a few questions, I was seeing a...
  31. C

    Ant chemical trails and detectors Moved to Biology

    1. How do you remove ants chemical trails on the wall? Water and rug not enough? 2. What are the exact details of the ants incredible chemical sensors in their antenna? How can they able to tell the difference between a hydrocarbon with 25 carbon atoms versus 24 atoms? 3. Lastly, is there an...
  32. A

    A The exciton dynamics in the FMO complex

    I want to study the coherence transfer of the excitation in the FMO complex, so I have to solve the Lindblad master equation. Can I treat my system as a two level system?
  33. Nick tringali

    Exploring Controversial Biology Topics

    Hello, For my senior project I need to type a 15 page paper on a controversial biology topic. Something that is still debated. I need to weigh evidence and data on both sides. I am having some trouble thinking of topics so if anyone has any thoughts it would help. It must be strictly biology...
  34. ThiccV2

    Courses Course choices for a student interested in structural biology

    Hey! I'm majoring in biochemistry (interested in MD/PhD), with interests in structural biology, protein dynamics, molecular dynamics, etc. and so I am taking some extra physics and math courses to help supplement my interests and better prepare me for graduate work. Do you guys think two...
  35. BWV

    Is information theory useful in biology?

    I only see it brought up in creationist attacks on evolution, definitely NOT trying to bring that up - curious if and how real biological science uses it. There are a couple of (expensive) older books and paywalled papers that seem legit, but cannot find much else for example...
  36. BillTre

    What's New and Cool in Biology?

    Molecular regulators of inter-cellular tension, at triple junctions between cells, in an epithelium have been described. Probably behind paywall. Interpretation by non-authors. Research article. An epithelium is a kind of tissue, where the cells are arranged in sheets. These cellular sheets...
  37. S

    Binnig's fractal evolution applied to multiple universes?

    Gerd Binnig, Nobel laureate in physics in 1986, proposed in his article "The fractal structure of evolution" [1] that everything in the universe, including its laws, had changed and became what we have got today through a process which mixes some concepts from darwinian evolution and fractal...
  38. Ygggdrasil

    Celebrating RNA Day: Exploring Exciting Areas of RNA Research

    Today (AUG 1) is RNA Day, an international celebration of one of the most versatile biomolecules in existence. This year, in particular, we are reminded of the importance of RNA biology as a pandemic caused by an RNA virus has disrupted life worldwide. What are some areas of RNA research that...
  39. allisrelative

    Scientists Claim to Have Found The First Known Alien Protein

    I think this is important not just for the extraterrestrial part but it can help explain how life starts on planets through Panspermia. https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-claim-to-have-found-the-first-known-extraterrestrial-protein-in-a-meteorite This could really be groundbreaking. If...
  40. A

    What are the Top Topics in Biology, Astrophysics, and Cosmology?

    hi! I'm not completely sure what I'm doing but my neighbor sent me this website so i can learn more about what I'm interested in. mostly, I'm interesting in learning about biology, astrophysics/cosmology, and the like. I'm super excited :p
  41. T

    Questions about DNA, biology, genetics and genealogy tests

    Is there any DNA, biology, genetics and genealogy tests that i can take to find out what i am supposed to do naturally OR what I am naturally made for? for example, my sexuality or being straight, bisexual, gay. If yes, what do these tests tell me about my DNA, biology and/or genes? Even if its...
  42. Cesca Roma

    I Discriminant function analysis - stepwise or otherwise?

    I’m using discriminant function analysis to determine the potential accuracy of several biometric measurements being used in conjunction for binary classification purposes for my BSc Biomed research project. Overall I've only got 110 data points so it's a stretch but hey, that's anatomy! What...
  43. A

    A Quantum biology - photosynthesis

    I am having trouble understanding this paper if anyone could explain it in a better way, I'd appreciate it. https://www.nature.com/articles/nature05678
  44. despues18

    Programs Seeking advice on how to search for a Graduate School in Molecular Biology

    Will finish B.S. in molecular biology in May. Have found asking vague questions about where to go/apply to next are pretty unhelpful. I believe that going through indexes of interesting research is the closest I can get to finding a place to advance myself and be happy in. here is an example...
  45. DennisN

    Metabolic pathways - Interactive map

    Are you like me and think biology can be messy and difficult? Well, you're right. :nb) Here is a very cool, very large interactive map of metabolic pathways, which a friend of mine sent to me today: http://metabolic-pathway.com/fullMap.html And if you want to be extremely careful with your...
  46. V

    I Reynolds Number in Organism-Fluid Interactions

    Recently I read an article that relates fish larval survival to Reynolds number. It is a new and very interesting concept to me. After some researching, the definition "ratio of inertial forces to viscous forces" still confuses me. As I understand it, both are resistant while the former to...
  47. J

    Programs Graduate Physics after MsC res in Chemical Biology and Bachelor in Biology

    I am 25 and I have graduated from Oxford university in Chemical Biology but strongly believe that I want to do Physics all my future life. I did my Masters by research on the department of Chemistry and I was co-supervised by Professor in Organic Chemistry and Professor in Physical Chemistry. So...
  48. cordless03

    A Can Particle Physics Revolutionize Biology?

    Are there any ways particle physics can impact biology? Specifically, being able to use methods from theoretical physics to study biological systems (possible physiology related).
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