INTRODUCTION TO BIOLOGY AND ITS BRANCHES

Word Biology is the combination two Greek words,”Bios” and “logy”. Bios means life and logy means study. So, study of living organisms is called biology. It is a subdivision of science.  Biology is a way of understanding nature. Biologists compare living and non living parts of world which affect the living things in any way. The meaning of biology is the study of life. It is difficult to define life. There are definite aspects of life that are away from the science of biology like the answers to the questions: What life actually means? Why should there be? These are the subjects not usually taken up by biologists and are left to philosophers and theologians. Biologists mainly treat with issues concerning to how life works. Life, for biologists, is a set of characteristics that distinguish living organisms from non-living objects (including extinct organisms). Living organisms are highly ordered and complex creatures; are composed of one or more cells; contain genetic makeup of their characteristics; can obtain and utilize energy; can carry out and control several chemical reactions; be able to grow in size; maintain a quite constant internal environment; can breed and produce offspring similar to themselves; counter to changes in their environment. 

All these characteristics simultaneously can be declared as a living thing and is an object for biological studies. The science of biology is a very varied based study: It includes every aspect of a living thing.

Biology is a branch of science and for our convenience; biology is further divided into various branches like Ecology, Embryology, Physiology, External Morphology, Internal Morphology or Anatomy, Histology, Evolution, Genetics etc. These are branches of biology which deals with the environmental relations, development, functions, structure, form fossils, tissues, ancestral history, heredity and distribution of animals in nature respectively. In addition to these branches, there are a number of other branches of biology such as Microbiology, Marine Biology, Human Biology, Sociology etc. 

Molecular Biology:

It is a division of biology which is concerned with the structure of organisms, the cells and their organelles at the atomic or molecular level.

Environmental Biology:

Environmental Biology or Natural Biology is the branch of biology which deals with the study of organisms in relation to their surroundings. This incorporates the interaction between the organism and their inorganic and organic environment, especially as it pertains to human activities.

Freshwater biology: 

This limb of biology deals with the organisms living in freshwater i.e. rivers, lakes, pounds etc. Freshwater biology also deals with these water bodies’ physical and chemical parameters.

Marine Biology:

Life in oceans and seas are studied under Marine Biology. This field includes the study of the marine life and the physical and chemical characteristics of the sea acting as factors for marine life.

Parasitology:

Word “Parasitology” is derived from two words, parasite and logy. So, the study of parasites is called parasitology. Parasite’s structure, living, mode of transmission, life records and host — parasite relationships are studied in parasitology.

Human Biology:

Human being is studied under Human biology. Everything of human being like structure, function, histology, anatomy, morphology, evolution, genetics, cell biology and ecological studies etc. is studied under this branch.

Social Biology:

This is the subdivision of biology which is concerned with the study of social and collective behavior and civic life of human beings.

Biotechnology:

It deals with the use of biological methodologies for industrial purposes, particularly genetic manipulation or production of antibiotics, hormones, etc.