Biology is the branch of science dealing with the study of life. It is concerned with the characteristics, classification, and behaviors of organisms, how species come into existence, and the interactions they have with each other and with the environment. Biology encompasses a broad spectrum of academic fields that are often viewed as independent disciplines. However, together they address phenomena related to living organisms (biological phenomena) over a wide range of scales, from biochemistry to ecology. All concepts in biology are subject to the same laws that other branches of science obey, such as the laws of thermodynamics and conservation of mass.

At the organism level, biology has explained phenomena such as birth, growth, aging, death and decay of living organisms, similarities between offspring and their parents (heredity) and flowering of plants which have puzzled humanity throughout history. Other phenomena, such as lactation, metamorphosis, egg-hatching, healing, and tropism have been addressed. On a wider scale of time and space, biologists have studied domestication of animals and plants, the wide variety of living organisms (biodiversity), changes in living organisms over time (evolution), extinction, speciation, social behaviour among animals, etc.

More on [ Biology ]

PLoS Medicine: New Articles


EurekAlert! - Biology

Highlights from the September 2008 Journal of the American Dietetic Association
Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0400
(American Dietetic Association) In May 2006, an agreement was reached by the Alliance for a Healthier Generation and the American Beverage Association on voluntary sales restrictions on "competitive foods" such as soft drinks at schools. However, researchers at Pardee Rand Graduate School say limiting the availability of soft drinks at school may not be enough to affect overall consumption among elementary school children.
Researchers devise means to create blood by identifying earliest stem cells
Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0400
(Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions) Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered the earliest form of humanblood stem cells and deciphered the mechanism by which these embryonicstem cells replicate and grow. They also found a surprising biologicalmarker that pinpoints these stem cells, which serve as the progenitorsfor red blood cells and lymphocytes.
Caltech scientists create DNA tubes with programmable sizes for nanoscale manufacturing
Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0400
(California Institute of Technology) Scientists at the California Institute of Technology have developed a simple process for mass producing molecular tubes of identical -- and precisely programmable -- circumferences. The technological feat may allow the use of the molecular tubes in a number of nanotechnology applications.

Subscribe to Biology RSS feed