INTRODUCTION TO BIOLOGY

I. Definition

A. Nominal Definition:
 “Science of Life”: the science that deals with all forms of life, including their classification,
physiology, chemistry, and interactions.
 Greek words: “bio” means life; “logos” means science or study.
B. Historical Definition:
 Term was introduced in Germany in 1800 and popularized by the French naturalist Jean-
Baptiste de Lamarck as a means of encompassing the growing number of disciplines
involved with the study of living forms.

The limits of the science, however, have always been difficult to determine, and as the scope of
biology has shifted over the years, its subject areas have been changed and reorganized. Today biology
is subdivided into hierarchies based on the molecule, the cell, the organism, and the population.

II. Brief History of Biology

Science exists because human have natural curiosity and an ability to organize and record things.
Curiosity is a characteristic shown by other animals but organizing and recording knowledge is a skill
demonstrated by humans alone.

A. Ancient Biology
a. Early Greeks were known to be the early biologist; at first they believed that different Gods
and Goddesses control everything in nature.
b. People of Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt record knowledge for practical needs. They
used symptoms to identify diseases.

B. Rise of Rationalism

a. Thales
 One of the first Greek philosophers to seek natural causes for natural
phenomena.
 He traveled widely throughout Egypt and the Middle East and became famous
for predicting a solar eclipse that occurred in 585 BC.
 At a time when people regarded eclipses as ominous, inexplicable, and
frightening events, his prediction marked the start of rationalism, a belief that
the universe can be explained by reason alone.
 Rationalism remains the hallmark of science to this day.

b. Aristotle
 FATHER OF BIOLOGY was one of the greatest natural philosophers who lived
in the Golden Age of Greece.
 From His studies of animal’s heart and brain, he correlated the warming-cooling
functions of the heart and brain to human feelings and emotions.

c. Theophrastus
 Founded the Science of Botany, providing detailed and vivid
descriptions of a wide variety of plant species as well as investigating the
germination process in seeds.
d. Galen
 Roman physician became the greatest authority on human anatomy.
 He obtained his knowledge from the dissection of animals.
 The best model for most of his descriptions of human anatomy was the
“Barbary ape”.
e. Hippocrates
 Great physician of Antiquity and regarded as the Father of Medicine.
 He was famous for his Hippocratic Oath.
 For over nine centuries, from about AD 500 to 1400, Western Europe made only a minor contribution to
scientific thought. European philosophers became preoccupied with alchemy, a secretive and mystical
pseudoscience that held out the illusory promise of turning inferior metals into gold. Alchemy did lead to some
discoveries, such as sulfuric acid, which was first described in the early 1300s, but elsewhere, particularly in
China and the Arab world, much more significant progress in the sciences was made.

C. Revival of European Science

In Europe, historians often attribute the rebirth of science to a political event—the

capture of Constantinople (now Istanbul) by the Turks in 1453. At the time, Constantinople
was the capital of the Byzantine Empire and a major seat of learning. Its downfall led to an
exodus of Greek scholars to the West. In the period that followed, many scientific works,
including those originally from the Arab world, were translated into European languages.

a. Andreas Vesalius
 He believed that anatomy should be based on direct observations and that
results must not be accepted without question.
 His methods of teaching and his anatomy book set new and lasting standards
for the science.
 De Corporis Humanis Fabrica
(On the Structure of the Human Body) was his famous book.
 Introduces actual dissection of the human body.

b. William Harvey
 An English physician (physiologist), who uses his knowledge of anatomy to
study and understand the circulation of the blood.
 He determined the true function of the heart and the blood vessels.

c. Anton Van Leeuwenhoek

 Dutch naturalist introduced the first “home made” microscope.
It was made up of lenses, which were originally invented by the
Jansen brothers, Dutch spectacle makers.

d. Robert Hooke
 One of those who made early discovery of the basic unit of life called
the cell.

D. Age of Enlightenment

Newton’s work demonstrated that nature was governed by basic rules that could
be identified using the scientific method. This new approach to nature and discovery liberated
18th-century scientists from passively accepting the wisdom of ancient writings or religious
authorities that had never been tested by experiment. In what became known as the Age of
Reason, or the Age of Enlightenment, scientists in the 18th century began to actively apply
rational thought, careful observation, and experimentation to solve a variety of problems.

a. Marie Francois Xavier Bichat

 Discovered that organs are composed of tissues and that their
functions could be determined only by studying their constituents.

b. Carolus Linnaeus
 Father of Scientific Classification (Taxonomy)
 Swedish naturalist, who classified close to 12,000 living plants and animals
into a systematic arrangement.
 E. 19th Century

With knowledge in all branches of science accumulating rapidly, scientists began

to specialize in particular fields. Specialization did not necessarily mean that discoveries were
specialized as well: From the 19th century onward, research began to uncover principles that
unite the universe as a whole.

a. Louis Pasteur (Pasteurization)

 French biologist who revolutionized medicine by correctly deducing that some
microorganisms are involved in disease.
 In the 1880s Pasteur devised methods of immunizing people against
diseases by deliberately treating them with weakened forms of the
disease-causing organisms themselves.

b. Gregor Mendel
 Austrian monk who laid the foundation of genetics.

c. Charles Darwin
 the British scientist towers above all other scientists of the 19th century.
 His publication of On the Origin of Species in 1859 marked a major
turning point for both biology and human thought.
 His Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection (independently and
simultaneously developed by British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace)
initiated a violent controversy that still has not subsided.

F. Modern Science

In the 20th century, scientists achieved spectacular advances in the fields of

genetics, medicine, social sciences, technology, and physics:
a. Francis Crick and James Watson – DNA Model
b. Paul Erlich - Phenol as the world’s first bactericide
c. Alexander Fleming – Antibiotic Penicillin
III. Scope of Biology

The branches of biology, based on concepts being studied, evolved through the years. Today,
there are at least 13 various branches of this science and these are:

1. Biosystematics – deals with identification, naming and classification of organisms. This is the modern term for
taxonomy. It can be further subdivided into plant, animal, and microbial systematics.
2. Biogeography – the study of the geographical distribution of organisms. This branch of biology is subdivided
into phytogeography (plant geography) and zoogeography (animal geography)
3. Molecular Biology or Biochemistry – the study of chemistry of living organisms. Molecular biology includes
gene biology and aspects of organic chemistry.
4. Cytology – the study of cells
5. Histology – the study of tissues
6. Organismic biology – the study of organ systems
7. Ecology – the study of the relationship of organisms and their environment
8. Morphoanatomy – the study of the gross structure of living organism
9. Physiology – the study of biological functions
10. Genetics – the study of heredity and variation
11. Reproductive Biology – the study of various aspects of reproduction
12. Developmental Biology – the study of the development of organisms from gamete formation to birth and other
developmental processes
13. Paleontology – the study of fossil records