Biology

Biology (from Greek: βίος, bio, "life"; and λόγος, logos, "knowledge") is the study of life. It is a field of empirical science that examines the structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, and distribution of living things both past and present. It classifies and describes the various forms of organisms, how organisms function, how species come into existence, and the interactions they have with each other and with the natural environment. Biology includes a broad spectrum of fields that address phenomena related to living organisms (biological phenomena), including botany, zoology and physiology.

A vast field, biology encompasses a large number of highly specialized disciplines. Traditionally, the specific fields within biology are very broadly grouped by the basic type of organisms being studied:

In addition to all of the basic groupings and specialized fields within biology, many applied fields of biology such as medicine and genetic research are more complex and involve many additional specialized sub-disciplines.

Biology as a unified science was first developed in the nineteenth century, as scientists discovered that all living things shared certain fundamental characteristics and were best studied as a whole. Today, biology is a standard subject of instruction at schools and universities around the world, and over a million papers are published annually in a wide array of biology and medicine journals.