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Biology is the scientific study of life.[1][2][3] It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field.[1][2][3] For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary information encoded in genes, which can be transmitted to future generations. Another major theme is evolution, which explains the unity and diversity of life.[1][2][3] Energy processing is also important to life as it allows organisms to move, grow, and reproduce.[1][2][3] Finally, all organisms are able to regulate their own internal environments.[1][2][3][4][5]
Biologists are able to study life at multiple levels of organization,[1] from the molecular biology of a cell to the anatomy and physiology of plants and animals, and evolution of populations.[1][6] Hence, there are multiple subdisciplines within biology, each defined by the nature of their research questions and the tools that they use.[7][8][9] Like other scientists, biologists use the scientific method to make observations, pose questions, generate hypotheses, perform experiments, and form conclusions about the world around them.[1]
Life on Earth, which emerged more than 3.7 billion years ago,[10] is immensely diverse. Biologists have sought to study and classify the various forms of life, from prokaryotic organisms such as archaea and bacteria to eukaryotic organisms such as protists, fungi, plants, and animals. These various organisms contribute to the biodiversity of an ecosystem, where they play specialized roles in the cycling of nutrients and energy through their biophysical environment.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Urry, Lisa; Cain, Michael; Wasserman, Steven; Minorsky, Peter; Reece, Jane (2017). "Evolution, the themes of biology, and scientific inquiry". Campbell Biology (11th ed.). New York: Pearson. pp. 2–26. ISBN 978-0134093413.
- ^ a b c d e Hillis, David M.; Heller, H. Craig; Hacker, Sally D.; Laskowski, Marta J.; Sadava, David E. (2020). "Studying life". Life: The Science of Biology (12th ed.). W. H. Freeman. ISBN 978-1319017644.
- ^ a b c d e Freeman, Scott; Quillin, Kim; Allison, Lizabeth; Black, Michael; Podgorski, Greg; Taylor, Emily; Carmichael, Jeff (2017). "Biology and the three of life". Biological Science (6th ed.). Hoboken, N.J.: Pearson. pp. 1–18. ISBN 978-0321976499.
- ^ Modell, Harold; Cliff, William; Michael, Joel; McFarland, Jenny; Wenderoth, Mary Pat; Wright, Ann (December 2015). "A physiologist's view of homeostasis". Advances in Physiology Education. 39 (4): 259–266. doi:10.1152/advan.00107.2015. PMC 4669363. PMID 26628646.
- ^ Davies, PC; Rieper, E; Tuszynski, JA (January 2013). "Self-organization and entropy reduction in a living cell". Bio Systems. 111 (1): 1–10. doi:10.1016/j.biosystems.2012.10.005. PMC 3712629. PMID 23159919.
- ^ Based on definition from: "Aquarena Wetlands Project glossary of terms". Texas State University at San Marcos. Archived from the original on 2004-06-08.
- ^ Craig, Nancy (2014). Molecular Biology, Principles of Genome Function. ISBN 978-0-19-965857-2.
- ^ Mosconi, Francesco; Julou, Thomas; Desprat, Nicolas; Sinha, Deepak Kumar; Allemand, Jean-François; Vincent Croquette; Bensimon, David (2008). "Some nonlinear challenges in biology". Nonlinearity. 21 (8): T131. Bibcode:2008Nonli..21..131M. doi:10.1088/0951-7715/21/8/T03. S2CID 119808230.
- ^ Howell, Elizabeth (8 December 2014). "How Did Life Become Complex, And Could It Happen Beyond Earth?". Astrobiology Magazine. Archived from the original on 17 August 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Pearce, Ben K.D.; Tupper, Andrew S.; Pudritz, Ralph E.; et al. (March 1, 2018). "Constraining the Time Interval for the Origin of Life on Earth". Astrobiology. 18 (3): 343–364. arXiv:1808.09460. Bibcode:2018AsBio..18..343P. doi:10.1089/ast.2017.1674. PMID 29570409. S2CID 4419671.