Biology: definition and role of the life sciences

The term “biology” was created from two Greek words: bios, “life,” and logos, “science.”

Organisms or organisms have extremes A variety of shape and size.

In addition toa legH, they could be the animals (jellyfish, mouse, dolphin, etc.), the plants (oak, mimosa, oleander, etc.), Microorganisms (Bacteria, plankton, etc.).

John the Baptist Lamarck (1744-1829), a French scientist close to the philosophers of the Enlightenment, invented the name biology to designate the science of living things. At the same time, the German scientist Gottfried Reinhold Triveranos (1776-1837) also depicts the word biology, on the other side of the Rhine.

Treviranus and Lamarck are considered the founding fathers of biology. Specifically, scientists who study biology are called biologists.

From the beginning, biologists Lamarck and Triveranos attributed a dual purpose to biology.

The purpose of biology is:

Discover the universal laws that make life possible as a general fact

Paint a picture of its diversity and history

Since Lamarck and Triveranus, biology has developed a lot. Today there Two different and complementary visions from biology.

The strict view of biology reduces it to the behavior of organisms, whether taken in isolation from their environment or in relation to their environment.

The broad view of biology proposes the complete study of living organisms, including All life sciences. This is the prevailing opinion today among biologists and the general public.

Includes biology Several sciences that study living organisms.

Here are some of the major disciplines in biology:

• Botany: the science that studies plants
• Zoology: the science that studies animals
• Ecology: is the science that studies the relationships of living organisms (animals, plants, and microorganisms) with their environment, as well as with other living organisms
• Anatomy: It is the science that studies the form and structure of organized organisms, as well as the relationships between their various members
• Morphology: is the science that studies the shape of living things
• Embryology: is the science that studies the development of organisms from a fertilized egg
• Physiology: the science that studies the functions and properties of the organs and tissues of living organisms
• Genetics: the science that studies heredity and genes