What is Biological sciences: Definition and 13 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. D

    Chemistry Reference book on catalytic mechanisms of enzymes

    Hi everyone, I'm curious if anyone knows of a reference book on enzymes that discusses each enzyme's catalytic mechanism(s). I've consulted several books that explain the different categories of enzymatic catalysis but I'm looking more for an encyclopedic reference that explains such...
  2. Ali Beladi

    I What does this tricky quantum mechanics equation mean?

    I'm a current high school student and I’m aspiring to become a biochemist. I’m at the moment writing an article about adaptive mutations but there is a lot of tricky quantum mechanics in it which I simply don't get. I have asked everyone and got no answer until someone recommended to ask it in a...
  3. Nick tringali

    The Obstetrical Conundrum: Fontanelles & Human Birth Canals

    I want to do a project for my class on the obstetrical conundrum. Which is basically the antagonism of selective pressures on pelvic morphology. I need help to find literature. I want to know if over the course of history, if Human baby's fontanelles increased in size in order to compensate for...
  4. M

    What would this artificial "super" mitochondria be able to do?

    I was reading a science article and it mentioned in the future that scientist could engineer an artificial super mitochondria. The article is here. https://www.hindawi.com/journals/sci/2017/7610414/ I know the mitochondria generates energy and helps with respiration and the brief description...
  5. 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...
  6. Ygggdrasil

    Medical New MC4R Variants Discovered to Protect Against Obesity

    Published this week in the journal Cell, researchers report discovering variants of the human gene MC4R that protect against obesity by helping to make people full. These new findings, combined with previous work on other MC4R variants that contribute to obesity, suggest the potential for new...
  7. A

    Why some of our cells cease to divide by mitosis

    Hi, this question has been bugging me off..why some of our cells like heart cells or nerve cells do not divide once they reach the maturity? As we know, our cells constantly divide to replace the old or dead cells so why this happen to these two cells ? And it is true only our nerve,heart and...
  8. Non Euclidean

    Other Can a physicist study evolutionary biology? How can I do?

    Hello, I’m an undergraduate physics student. Recently, I recognize that I am interested in evolution and I want to study life’s origin. When I preferred physics, because I want to learn how nature works. Now, I am not only interested in how nature works, also I’m passionate for neuroscience and...
  9. Priyadarshini

    Biological Sciences and Biomedical Sciences

    What is the difference between biological sciences and biomedical sciences? In biological sciences, is the main focus ecosystems, evolution etc or is the main focus human biology or zoology? Thanks!
  10. H

    To physical scientist, what do you think of biological sciences?

    I majored in neuroscience and applied math in college and want to do computational neuroscience research long term. Being at the crossroads of biology and physical sciences, I think a lot about how the two "worlds" view each other. The lab I'm currently in has some people directly from the...
  11. K

    Schools Graduate schools in the US for the biological sciences.

    Hi, I'm just wondering if I could be pointed to some good graduate programs in the US for the biological sciences. Things of interest to me are biochemistry, biotechnology, immunology, microbiology, and pathobiology. One thing to note is that I'm a Canadian student, and I would be interested in...
  12. N

    The concept of 'intelligence' within the biological sciences.

    Recently, the Biology section of PF got a new thread, Cranial Size and Intelligence. One exchange in that thread concerned the 'intelligence' of species other than Homo sap. Clearly, not wearing a biologist's hat, each of us may be able to give a description of what we think the intelligence of...
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