Biology Definition

Students all over the world study in areas such as math, art and science. These studies help people to understand the world and to create products or systems that will benefit others. The fields of science are particularly fruitful in this regard. A particular branch of science is biology, which itself has many sub-branches. What is biology, and why is it useful or controversial?

Definition

Biology, simply defined, is the study of living organisms. These organisms can be everything from single cells to entire animals and what makes them up. Biology looks at living organisms in terms of what they do (function), origin (where they came from), evolution (how they became what they are or how they will become something else), distribution (how the organisms get from place to place or where they are located) and growth (positive change in the organisms' sizes).

Disciplines and Subgroups

In biology, there are multiple disciplines. These include botany (the study of plants), microbiology (the study of microorganisms), and zoology (the study of animals). Within these three disciplines, there are additional subgroups. These include biochemistry (the study of the chemical components of an organism), molecular biology (the study of how the molecular systems of an organism work together), physiology (the study of the organs and tissues of an organism), ecology (the study of the organism's environment and the impact of the organism and environment on each other) and cellular biology (the study of the cells of an organism).

Principles

Biology has five unifying, or common, principles. These principles include energy, homeostasis, evolution, gene theory cell theory, and. The energy principle states that all organisms need energy to survive. The principle of homeostasis involves the idea that an organism's physical processes enable the organism to maintain its internal status despite impacts from the external environment. The evolution principle dictates that inherited traits of an organism will change over time, while gene theory studies how the inherited traits are held within the organism's DNA. Lastly, cell theory studies how the cells of the organism work in order to maintain homeostasis, replication, respiration, etc. and to interact with the environment.

Usefulness

Biology is useful for understanding what is necessary for organisms to live. By studying biology, an individual can work toward cures for disease, improved ecology and longer life spans.

Controversy

Biology is not without controversy. One of the main principles of biology, evolution, which is tied to all other biological principles and disciplines, has come under extreme criticism because it directly conflicts with ideologies from major religions such as Christianity.