What is SCIENCE?
The word science comes from the Latin "scientia," meaning knowledge.
How do we define science?
According to Webster's New Collegiate
Dictionary, the definition of science is "knowledge attained through
study or practice," or "knowledge covering general truths of the
operation of general laws, esp. as obtained and tested through
scientific method and concerned with the physical world."
What does that really mean?
Science refers to a system of
acquiring knowledge. This system uses observation and experimentation
to describe and explain natural phenomena. The term science also refers
to the organized body of knowledge people have gained using that system.
Less formally, the word science often describes any systematic field of
study or the knowledge gained from it.
What is the purpose of science?
Perhaps the most general
description is that the purpose of science is to produce useful models
of reality. Most scientific investigations use some form of the scientific method. You can find out more about the scientific method here.
Science as defined above is sometimes called pure science to
differentiate it from applied science, which is the application of
research to human needs. Fields of science are commonly classified along
two major lines:
- Natural sciences, the study of the natural world, and
- Social sciences, the systematic study of human behavior and society.
What is BIOLOGY?
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living
organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin,
evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Subdisciplines of biology are
recognized on the basis of the scale at which organisms are studied and
the methods used to study them: biochemistry examines the rudimentary
chemistry of life; molecular biology studies the complex interactions of
systems of biological molecules; cellular biology examines the basic
building block of all life, the cell; physiology examines the physical
and chemical functions of the tissues, organs, and organ systems of an
organism; and ecology examines how various organisms interact and
associate with their environment.
Biology is a Greek word which have come from two words bio ang logy bio
means life and logy means "thought or reasoning" so if we combine these
two we will be able to know about the word "biology".There are three
branches of biology.
1.Botany
2.Zoology
3.Micro-biology
1.Botany:Botany is that branch of biology which deals with the study of "Plants"
2.Zoology:Zoology is that branch of biology which deals with the study of animals.(hint:zoo=animals)
3.Micro-biology:Micro-biology is that branch of biology which deals with the study of micro-organisims such as bacteria e.t.c.
These are the main branches of biology:
[A]
Aerobiology — the study of airborne organic particles
Agriculture — the study of producing crops from the land, with an emphasis on practical
applications
Anatomy — the study of form and function, in plants, animals, and other organisms, or
specifically in humans
[B]
Bioengineering
— the study of biology through the means of engineering with an
emphasis on
applied knowledge and especially related to biotechnology
Biomathematics
or Mathematical Biology — the quantitative or mathematical study of
biological processes, with an emphasis on
modeling
Biotechnology — a
new and sometimes controversial branch of biology that studies the
manipulation of living matter, including genetic modification and
synthetic
biology
Botany — the study of plants
[C]
Cell biology — the
study of the cell as a complete unit, and the molecular and chemical
interactions that occur within a living cell
[E]
Ecology — the study of
the interactions of living organisms with one another and with the
non-living elements of their environment
Epidemiology — a major component of public health research, studying factors affecting the
health of populations
Epigenetics
— the study of heritable changes in gene expression or cellular
phenotype
caused by mechanisms other than changes in the underlying DNA
sequence
Ethology — the study of animal behavior
Evolutionary Biology — the study of the origin and descent of species over time
[G]
Genetics — the study of genes and heredity
[H]
Herpetology — the study of reptiles and amphibians
Histology — the study of cells and tissues, a microscopic branch of anatomy
[I]
Ichthyology — the study of fish
[M]
Marine Biology — the study of ocean ecosystems, plants, animals, and other living beingsMicrobiology — 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
[O]
Oceanography
— the study of the ocean, including ocean life, environment, geography,
weather, and other aspects influencing the ocean
Oncology — the study of cancer processes, including virus or mutation oncogenesis,
angiogenesis and tissues remoldings
[P]
Population genetics — the study of changes in gene frequencies in populations of organisms
Paleontology — the study of fossils and sometimes geographic evidence of prehistoric life
Pathobiology or pathology — the study of diseases, and the causes, Parasitology — 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 (also called Plant Pathology)
Psychobiology — the study of the biological bases of psychology
[V]
Virology — the study of viruses and some other virus-like agents
[Z]
Zoology
— the study of animals, including classification, physiology,
development, and behavior (See also Entomology, Ethology, Herpetology,
Ichthyology, Mammalogy, and Ornithology)
