How To Find Your Biological Father With No Information

What is biology?

Biology is the study of all living organisms, including this adorable jewel bug and the plant it's perched on.

Biology is the study of all living organisms, including this ambrosial precious stone bug and the constitute information technology's perched on. (Image credit: Shutterstock)

Biology is the written report of life. The word "biology" is derived from the Greek words "bios" (meaning life) and "logos" (pregnant "study"). In full general, biologists study the structure, function, growth, origin, evolution and distribution of living organisms.

Biology is important because it helps us understand how living things piece of work and how they role and collaborate on multiple levels, co-ordinate to the Encyclopedia Britannica. Advances in biology have helped scientists practise things such equally develop meliorate medicines and treatments for diseases, understand how a changing environment might touch on plants and animals, produce enough food for a growing human population and predict how eating new food or sticking to an exercise regimen might affect our bodies.

The basic principles of modern biology

Iv principles unify mod biology, according to the book "Managing Science" (Springer New York, 2010):

Jail cell theory is the principle that all living things are made of fundamental units called cells, and all cells come from preexisting cells.
Gene theory is the principle that all living things have DNA, molecules that code the structures and functions of cells and become passed to offspring.
Homeostasis is the principle that all living things maintain a state of balance that enables organisms to survive in their environment.
Development is the principle that describes how all living things can change to accept traits that enable them to survive better in their environments. These traits result from random mutations in the organism'south genes that are "selected" via a process called natural selection. During natural selection, organisms that accept traits amend-suited for their environment have higher rates of survival, and and then pass those traits to their offspring.

The many branches of biology

Although there are simply 4 unifying principles, biology covers a wide range of topics that are broken into many disciplines and subdisciplines.

On a high level, the dissimilar fields of biology tin can each be thought of every bit the study of one type of organism, according to "Blackie's Dictionary of Biology" (S Chand, 2014). For example, zoology is the study of animals, botany is the report of plants and microbiology is the report of microorganisms.

A botanist, which is a type of biologist, examining plants growing in a greenhouse. — A botanist is a biologist who studies plants. (Image credit: Shutterstock)

Inside those broader fields, many biologists specialize in researching a specific topic or problem. For case, a scientist may study behavior of a certain fish species, while another scientist may inquiry the neurological and chemic mechanisms behind the beliefs.

At that place are numerous branches and subdisciplines of biological science, but here is a short list of some of the more broad fields that fall under the umbrella of biology:

Biochemistry: The report of the chemical processes that accept place in or are related to living things, according to the Biochemical Guild. For example, pharmacology is a type of biochemistry research that focuses on studying how drugs interact with chemicals in the body, as described in a 2010 review in the journal Biochemistry.

Ecology: The study of how organisms collaborate with their environment. For instance, an ecologist may study how honeybee behavior is affected by humans living nearby.

Genetics: The written report of heredity. Geneticists study how genes are passed down past parents to their offspring, and how they vary from person to person. For instance, scientists accept identified several genes and genetic mutations that influence human lifespan, equally reported in a 2019 review published in the journal Nature Reviews Genetics.

Physiology: The report of how living things work. Physiology, which is applicative to whatever living organism, "deals with the life-supporting functions and processes of living organisms or their parts," according to Nature. Physiologists seek to understand biological processes, such as how a item organ works, what its function is and how information technology's affected by outside stimuli. For example, physiologists have studied how listening to music tin can cause physical changes in the human trunk, such as a slower or faster center charge per unit, according to the journal Psychological Health Effects of Musical Experiences. .

The multidisciplinary nature of biological science

Biological science is oft researched in conjunction with other fields of study, including mathematics, applied science and the social sciences. Hither are a few examples:

Astrobiology is the report of the evolution of life in the universe, including the search for extraterrestrial life, co-ordinate to NASA. This field incorporates principles of biology with astronomy.

Bioarchaeologists are biologists who incorporate archaeological techniques to study skeletal remains and derive insights about how people lived in the past, according to George Bricklayer University.

Bioengineering is the application of engineering principles to biology and vice versa, according to the University of California Berkeley. For example, a bioengineer might develop a new medical applied science that better images the inside of the body, like an improved Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) that scans the man trunk at a faster rate and college resolution, or apply biological noesis to create artificial organs, according to the journal Cell Transplant.

Biotechnology involves using biological systems to develop products, according to the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. For example, biotechnologists in Russian federation genetically engineered a improve-tasting and more affliction-resistant strawberry, which the researchers described in their 2007 study published in the journal Biotechnology and Sustainable Agriculture 2006 and Across.

Biophysics employs the principles of physics to understand how biological systems work, according to the Biophysical Society. For example, biophysicists may report how genetic mutations leading to changes in protein construction impacts protein evolution, according to the Journal of the Royal Society

An illustration of protein — A 3d Illustration of the chain of amino acids that make upwardly protein. (Paradigm credit: Getty Images)

What exercise biologists do?

Biologists can piece of work in many unlike fields, including research, healthcare, environmental conservation and art, according to the American Plant of Biological Sciences. Hither are a few examples:

Research: Biologists can perform research in many types of settings. Microbiologists, for example, may report bacterial cultures in a laboratory setting. Other biologists may perform field enquiry, where they detect animals or plants in their native habitat. Many biologists may work in the lab and in the field — for example, scientists may collect soil or water samples from the field and analyze them further in the lab, like at North Carolina University's Soil and H2o Lab.

Conservation: Biologists can help with efforts in environmental conservation by studying and determining how to protect and conserve the natural world for the future. For case, biologists may help educate the public on the importance of preserving an animal's natural habitat and participate in endangered species recovery programs to stop the turn down of an endangered species, according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

An ecologist doing as survey — An ecologist taking a water samples from a creek. (Paradigm credit: Getty Images)

Healthcare: People who report biology can go along to work in healthcare, whether they work as doctors or nurses, join a pharmaceutical company to develop new drugs and vaccines, research the efficacy of medical treatments or get veterinarians to help treat sick animals, according to the American Institute of Biological Sciences.

Fine art: Biologists who as well accept a background in art have both the technical knowledge and artistic skill to create visuals that will communicate complex biological information to a broad variety of audiences. One example of this is in medical illustration, in which an illustrator may perform background research, collaborate with experts, and observe a medical process to create an accurate visual of a trunk function, according to the Association of Medical Illustrators.

Additional resource

If yous're curious about just how wide-reaching biology is, The University of North Carolina at Pembroke has listed a number of biology subdisciplines on their website. Interested in a career in biological science? Check out some options at the American Institute of Biological Sciences website.

Bibliography

Lornande Loss Woodruff, "History of Biological science", The Scientific Monthly, Volume 12, March 1921, http://www.jstor.org/stable/6836.

P.Northward. Campbell, "Biology in Profile: A Guide to the Many Branches of Biological science", Elsevier, Oct 2013.

The University of N Carolina at Pembroke, "Biology Sub-disciplines", October 2010.

University of Minnesota Duluth, "What is Biology?", January 2022.

Eric J. Simon et al, "Campbell Essential Biological science", Pearson Educational activity, January 2018.

Alane Lim holds a Ph.D. in materials scientific discipline and engineering from Northwestern University and a available's degrees in chemistry and cognitive science from Johns Hopkins University. She also has over five years of experience in writing about science for a diversity of audiences. Her work has appeared on the science YouTube channel SciShow, the reference website ThoughtCo, and the American Institute of Physics.