List of life sciences: Difference between revisions

Content deleted Content added

Inline

Revision as of 05:22, 5 February 2014

Simulations of the fluorescence of different fluorescent proteins.

The life sciences comprise the fields of science that involve the scientific study of living organisms – such as microorganisms, plants, animals, and human beings – as well as related considerations like bioethics. While biology remains the centerpiece of the life sciences, technological advances in molecular biology and biotechnology have led to a burgeoning of specializations and interdisciplinary fields.^[1]

Some life sciences focus on a specific type of life. For example, zoology is the study of animals, while botany is the study of plants. Other life sciences focus on aspects common to all or many life forms, such as anatomy and genetics. Yet other fields are interested in technological advances involving living things, such as bio-engineering. Another major, though more specific, branch of life sciences involves understanding the mind – neuroscience.

The life sciences are helpful in improving the quality and standard of life. They have applications in health, agriculture, medicine, and the pharmaceutical and food science industries.

The following is an incomplete list of as well as topics of study in the life sciences, in which there is considerable overlap between many entries:

Topics of study

Affective neuroscience

Affective neuroscience is the study of the neural mechanisms of emotion. This interdisciplinary field combines neuroscience with the psychological study of personality, emotion, and mood.^[2]

Anatomy

Anatomy is the study of the body plan of animals. In some of its facets, anatomy is closely related to embryology, comparative anatomy and comparative embryology,^[3] through common roots in evolution. Human anatomy is important in medicine.

The discipline of anatomy is subdivided into gross (or macroscopic) anatomy and microscopic anatomy. Gross anatomy is the study of structures that can, when suitably presented or dissected, be seen by unaided vision with the naked eye. Microscopic anatomy is the study of structures on a microscopic scale, including histology (the study of tissues) and cytology (the study of cells).

The history of anatomy is characterized by a continual development in understanding of the functions of the organs and structures of the human body. Methods have also improved dramatically, advancing from examination of animals through dissection of cadavers (dead human bodies) to 20th century techniques including X-ray, ultrasound, and magnetic resonance imaging.

Astrobiology

Astrobiology is the study of the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe: extraterrestrial life and life on Earth. This interdisciplinary field encompasses the search for habitable environments in our Solar System and habitable planets outside our Solar System, the search for evidence of prebiotic chemistry, laboratory and field research into the origins and early evolution of life on Earth, and studies of the potential for life to adapt to challenges on Earth and in outer space.^[4] Astrobiology addresses the question of whether life exists beyond Earth, and how humans can detect it if it does.^[5] (The term exobiology is similar but more specific — it covers the search for life beyond Earth, and the effects of extraterrestrial environments on living things.)^[6]

Astrobiology makes use of physics, chemistry, astronomy, biology, molecular biology, ecology, planetary science, geography, and geology to investigate the possibility of life on other worlds and help recognize biospheres that might be different from the biosphere on Earth.^[7]^[8] Astrobiology concerns itself with interpretation of existing scientific data; given more detailed and reliable data from other parts of the universe, the roots of astrobiology itself—physics, chemistry and biology—may have their theoretical bases challenged. Although speculation is entertained to give context, astrobiology concerns itself primarily with hypotheses that fit firmly into existing scientific theories.

Biochemistry

Biochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to, living organisms.^[9] By controlling information flow through biochemical signaling and the flow of chemical energy through metabolism, biochemical processes give rise to the complexity of life. Over the last 40 years, biochemistry has become so successful at explaining living processes that now almost all areas of the life sciences from botany to medicine are engaged in biochemical research.^[10] Today, the main focus of pure biochemistry is in understanding how biological molecules give rise to the processes that occur within living cells, which in turn relates greatly to the study and understanding of whole organisms.

Biochemistry is closely related to molecular biology, the study of the molecular mechanisms by which genetic information encoded in DNA is able to result in the processes of life. Depending on the exact definition of the terms used, molecular biology can be thought of as a branch of biochemistry, or biochemistry as a tool with which to investigate and study molecular biology.

Much of biochemistry deals with the structures, functions and interactions of biological macromolecules, such as proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates and lipids, which provide the structure of cells and perform many of the functions associated with life. The chemistry of the cell also depends on the reactions of smaller molecules and ions. These can be inorganic, for example water and metal ions, or organic, for example the amino acids which are used to synthesize proteins. The mechanisms by which cells harness energy from their environment via chemical reactions are known as metabolism. The findings of biochemistry are applied primarily in medicine, nutrition, and agriculture. In medicine, biochemists investigate the causes and cures of disease. In nutrition, they study how to maintain health and study the effects of nutritional deficiencies. In agriculture, biochemists investigate soil and fertilizers, and try to discover ways to improve crop cultivation, crop storage and pest control.

Biocomputers

Biocomputers use systems of biologically derived molecules, such as DNA and proteins, to perform computational calculations involving storing, retrieving, and processing data. The development of biocomputers has been made possible by the expanding new science of nanobiotechnology.

Biocontrol

Biological control is a bioeffector-method of controlling pests (including insects, mites, weeds and plant diseases) using other living organisms.^[11]

Biodynamics

Biodynamic agriculture is a method of organic farming originally developed by Rudolf Steiner that employs what proponents describe as "a holistic understanding of agricultural processes".^[12]^: 145 One of the first sustainable agriculture movements,^[13]^[14]^[15]

Bioinformatics

Bioinformatics is an interdisciplinary scientific field that develops methods for storing, retrieving, organizing and analyzing biological data. A major activity in bioinformatics is to develop software tools to generate useful biological knowledge.

Biology

Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy.^[16] Modern biology is a vast and eclectic field, composed of many branches and subdisciplines. However, despite the broad scope of biology, there are certain general and unifying concepts within it that govern all study and research, consolidating it into single, coherent field. In general, biology recognizes the cell as the basic unit of life, genes as the basic unit of heredity, and evolution as the engine that propels the synthesis and creation of new species. It is also understood today that all organisms survive by consuming and transforming energy and by regulating their internal environment to maintain a stable and vital condition.

Subdisciplines of biology are defined by the scale at which organisms are studied, the kinds of organisms studied, and the methods used to study them: Biochemistry examines the rudimentary chemistry of life; molecular biology studies the complex interactions among biological molecules; botany studies the biology of plants; cellular biology examines the basic building-block of all life, the cell; physiology examines the physical and chemical functions of tissues, organs, and organ systems of an organism; evolutionary biology examines the processes that produced the diversity of life; and ecology examines how organisms interact in their environment.^[17]

Biomaterials

A biomaterial is any matter, surface, or construct that interacts with biological systems. As a science, biomaterials is about fifty years old. The study of biomaterials is called biomaterials science. It has experienced steady and strong growth over its history, with many companies investing large amounts of money into the development of new products. Biomaterials science encompasses elements of medicine, biology, chemistry, tissue engineering and materials science.

Biomechanics

Biomechanics is the study of the structure and function of biological systems such as humans, animals, plants, organs, and cells^[18] by means of the methods of mechanics.^[19]

Biomedical science

Healthcare science, also known as biomedical science, is a set of applied sciences applying portions of natural science or formal science, or both, to develop knowledge, interventions, or technology of use in healthcare or public health.^[20] Such disciplines as medical microbiology, clinical virology, clinical epidemiology, genetic epidemiology, and biomedical engineering are medical sciences. Explaining physiological mechanisms operating in pathological processes, however, pathophysiology can be regarded as basic science.

Biomedicine

Biomedicine, or Medical biology, is a branch of medical science that applies biological and other natural-science principles to clinical practice.^[21] Biomedicine is related to the ability of humans to cope with environmental stress. The branch especially applies to biology and physiology.^[22] Biomedicine also can relate to many other categories in health and biological related fields.

Biomonitoring

In analytical chemistry, biomonitoring is the measurement of the body burden^[23] of toxic chemical compounds, elements, or their metabolites, in biological substances.^[24]^[25] Often, these measurements are done in blood and urine.^[26]

The two best established biomonitoring programs in representative samples of the general population are those of the United States and Germany, although population-based programs exist in a few other countries.^[27] In 2001, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) began to publish its biennial National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals, which reports a statistically representative sample of the U.S. population.^[28] The Environmental Working Group has also conducted biomonitoring studies.^[29]

Biophysics

Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science using methods of, and theories from, physics to study biological systems.^[30] Biophysics spans all levels of biological organization, from the molecular scale to whole organisms and ecosystems. Biophysical research shares significant overlap with biochemistry, nanotechnology, bioengineering, agrophysics, and systems biology. It has been suggested as a bridge between biology and physics.

Biopolymers

Biopolymers are polymers produced by living organisms; in other words, they are polymeric biomolecules. Since they are polymers, biopolymers contain monomeric units that are covalently bonded to form larger structures. There are three main classes of biopolymers, classified according to the monomeric units used and the structure of the biopolymer formed: polynucleotides (RNA and DNA), which are long polymers composed of 13 or more nucleotide monomers; polypeptides, which are short polymers of amino acids; and polysaccharides, which are often linear bonded polymeric carbohydrate structures.^[31]^[32]^[33]^[34]

Biotechnology

Biotechnology is the use of living systems and organisms to develop or make useful products, or "any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use" (UN Convention on Biological Diversity, Art. 2).^[35] Depending on the tools and applications, it often overlaps with the (related) fields of bioengineering and biomedical engineering.

For thousands of years, humankind has used biotechnology in agriculture, food production, and medicine.^[36] The term itself is largely believed to have been coined in 1919 by Hungarian engineer Károly Ereky. In the late 20th and early 21st century, biotechnology has expanded to include new and diverse sciences such as genomics, recombinant gene technologies, applied immunology, and development of pharmaceutical therapies and diagnostic tests.^[37]

Botany

Botany, also called plant science(s) or plant biology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. Traditionally, botany has included the study of fungi and algae, studied by mycologists, phycologists respectively, with the study of plants and these three groups of organisms remain within the sphere of interest of the International Botanical Congress. Botany originated in prehistory as herbalism with the efforts of early humans to identify – and later cultivate – edible, medicinal and poisonous plants, making it one of the oldest branches of science. Medieval physic gardens, often attached to monasteries, contained plants of medical importance. They were forerunners of the first botanical gardens attached to universities, founded from the 1540s onwards. Efforts to catalogue and describe their collections were the beginnings of plant taxonomy, and led in 1753 to the binomial system of Carl Linnaeus that remains in use to this day.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, new techniques were developed for the study of plants, including methods of optical microscopy and live cell imaging, electron microscopy, analysis of chromosome number, plant chemistry and the structure and function of enzymes and other proteins. In the last two decades of the 20th century, botanists exploited the techniques of molecular genetic analysis, including genomics and proteomics and DNA sequences to classify plants more accurately.

Modern botany is a broad, multidisciplinary subject with inputs from most other areas of science and technology. Research topics include the study of plant structure, growth and differentiation, reproduction, biochemistry and primary metabolism, chemical products, development, diseases, evolutionary relationships, systematics, and plant taxonomy. Dominant themes in 21st century plant science are molecular genetics and epigenetics, which are the mechanisms and control of gene expression during differentiation of plant cells and tissues. Botanical research has diverse applications in providing staple foods and textiles, in modern horticulture, agriculture and forestry, plant propagation, breeding and genetic modification, in the synthesis of chemicals and raw materials for construction and energy production, in environmental management, and the maintenance of biodiversity.

Cell biology

Cognitive neuroscience

Computational neuroscience

Conservation biology

Developmental biology

Ecology

Environmental science

Ethology

Evolutionary biology

Evolutionary genetics

Food science

Genetics

Genomics

Health sciences

Immunogenetics

Immunology

Immunotherapy

Kinesiology

Marine biology

Medical devices

Medical imaging

Medical Sciences

Medical Social Work

Microbiology

Molecular biology

Neuroethology

Neuroscience

Oncology

Optogenetics

Optometry

Parasitology

Pathology

Pharmacogenomics

Pharmaceutical sciences

Pharmacology

Physiology

Population dynamics

Proteomics

Psychiatric Social Work

Psychology

Sports science

Structural biology

Systems biology

Systems biology is a biology-based inter-disciplinary field of study that focuses on complex interactions within biological systems, using a more holistic perspective (holism instead of the more traditional reductionism) approach to biological and biomedical research. Particularly from year 2000 onwards, the concept has been used widely in the biosciences in a variety of contexts. One of the outreaching aims of systems biology is to model and discover emergent properties, properties of cells, tissues and organisms functioning as a system whose theoretical description is only possible using techniques which fall under the remit of systems biology. These typically involve metabolic networks or cell signaling networks.^[38]

Zoology

Zoology is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct.

Although the study of animal life is ancient, its scientific incarnation is relatively modern. This mirrors the transition from natural history to biology at the start of the nineteenth century.

Zoology has expanded to include various sub-disciplines:

Zoography, also known as descriptive zoology, describes animals and their habitats
Comparative anatomy studies the structure of animals.
Animal physiology
Behavioral ecology
Ethology studies animal behavior.
Invertebrate Zoology.
Vertebrate Zoology.
Comparative Zoology.
The various taxonomically oriented disciplines such as mammalogy, herpetology, ornithology and entomology identify and classify species and study the structures and mechanisms specific to those groups.

Scientific societies

Federation of European Biochemical Societies (FEBS)
European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO)
International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS)
Life Sciences Switzerland

References

^ "Life Sciences". Empire State Development Corporation. Government of New York. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
^ Panksepp J (1992). "A role for "affective neuroscience" in understanding stress: the case of separation distress circuitry". In Puglisi-Allegra S, Oliverio A (ed.). Psychobiology of Stress. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer Academic. pp. 41–58. ISBN 0-7923-0682-1.
^ "Introduction page, "Anatomy of the Human Body". Henry Gray. 20th edition. 1918". Archived from the original on 16 March 2007. Retrieved 19 March 2007.
^ "How the search for aliens can help sustain life on Earth". CNN News. 4 October 2012. Retrieved 2012-10-08. {{cite news}}: |first= missing |last= (help); Check |first= value (help)
^ "About Astrobiology". NASA Astrobiology Institute. NASA. 21 January 2008. Archived from the original on 11 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-20. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^ Mirriam Webster Dictionary entry "Exobiology" (accessed 11 April 2013)
^ iTWire - Scientists will look for alien life, but Where and How?
^ Ward, P. D. (2004). The life and death of planet Earth. New York: Owl Books. ISBN 0-8050-7512-7. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
^ http://portal.acs.org/portal/acs/corg/content?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=PP_ARTICLEMAIN&node_id=1188&content_id=CTP_003379&use_sec=true&sec_url_var=region1&__uuid=aa3f2aa3-8047-4fa2-88b8-32ffcad3a93e
^ "scientific term 'biochemistry'".
^ Clark, Jack K., ed. (1998). Natural Enemies Handbook: The Illustrated Guide to Biological Pest Control. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520218017. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
^ Florian Leiber, Nikolai Fuchs and Hartmut Spieß, "Biodynamic agriculture today", in Paul Kristiansen, Acram Taji, and John Reganold (2006), Organic Agriculture: A global perspective, Collingwood, AU: CSIRO Publishing
^ Paull, John (2011). "Attending the First Organic Agriculture Course: Rudolf Steiner's Agriculture Course at Koberwitz, 1924" (PDF). European Journal of Social Sciences'. 21 (1): 64–70.
^ Lotter, D.W. 2003."Organic agriculture" J. Sustainable Agriculture 21(4)
^ Richard Harwood, former C.S. Mott Chair for Sustainable Agriculture at Michigan State University, calls the biodynamic movement the "first organized and well-defined movement of growers and philosophies [in sustainable agriculture] (Harwood 1990; p.6).
^ Based on definition from: "Aquarena Wetlands Project glossary of terms". Texas State University at San Marcos. Archived from the original on 2004-06-08.
^ "Life Science, Weber State Museum of Natural Science". Community.weber.edu. Retrieved 2013-10-02.
^ R. McNeill Alexander (2005) Mechanics of animal movement, Current Biology Volume 15, Issue 16, 23 August 2005, Pages R616-R619.
^ Hatze, Herbert (1974). "The meaning of the term biomechanics". Journal of Biomechanics. 7: 189–190.
^ "The Future of the Healthcare Science Workforce. Modernising Scientific Careers: The Next Steps". 26 Nov 2008. p. 2. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
^ "biomedicine (applies biological, physiological) - Memidex dictionary/thesaurus". memidex.com. 2012-10-08. Retrieved 2012-10-20.
^ "biomedicine - The Free Dictionary". 2013. Retrieved 2013-05-15.
^ What is body burden?
^ "Third National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals" (PDF). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – National Center for Environmental Health. Retrieved 9 August 2009.
^ "What is Biomonitoring?" (PDF). American Chemistry Council. Retrieved 11 January 2009.
^ Angerer, Jürgen; Ewers, Ulrich; Wilhelm, Michael (2007). "Human biomonitoring: State of the art". International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health. 210 (3–4): 201–28. doi:10.1016/j.ijheh.2007.01.024. PMID 17376741.
^ Porta M, et al. Monitoring concentrations of persistent organic pollutants in the general population: the international experience. Environment International 2008; 34: 546–561.
^ "About the Program". cdc.gov. Centers for Disease Control. 3 April 2008. Retrieved 25 May 2009.
^ "About the Human Toxome Project". Human Toxome Project. Environmental Working Group. Retrieved 30 September 2009.
^ Careers in Biophysics brochure, Biophysical Society
^ Mohanty, A.K., et al., Natural Fibers, Biopolymers, and Biocomposites (CRC Press, 2005)
^ Chandra, R., and Rustgi, R., "Biodegradable Polymers", Progress in Polymer Science, Vol. 23, p. 1273 (1998)
^ Meyers, M.A., et al., "Biological Materials: Structure & Mechanical Properties", Progress in Materials Science, Vol. 53, p. 1 (2008)
^ Kumar, A., et al., "Smart Polymers: Physical Forms & Bioengineering Applications", Progress in Polymer Science, Vol. 32, p.1205 (2007)
^ Text of the CBD. Cbd.int. Retrieved on 2013-03-20.
^ "Incorporating Biotechnology into the Classroom What is Biotechnology?", from the curricula of the 'Incorporating Biotechnology into the High School Classroom through Arizona State University's BioREACH PROGRAM', accessed on October 16, 2012). Public.asu.edu. Retrieved on 2013-03-20.
^ ''Incorporating Biotechnology into the Classroom – What is Biotechnology?'', from Incorporating Biotechnology into the High School Classroom through Arizona State University's BioREACH PROGRAM, Arizona State University, Microbiology Department, retrieved October 16, 2012. Public.asu.edu. Retrieved on 2013-03-20.
^ Bu Z, Callaway DJ (2011). "Proteins MOVE! Protein dynamics and long-range allostery in cell signaling". Advances in Protein Chemistry and Structural Biology. Advances in Protein Chemistry and Structural Biology. 83: 163–221. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-381262-9.00005-7. ISBN 978-0-123-81262-9. PMID 21570668.

@@ Line 87: / Line 87: @@
 ===Biomedicine===
 {{main|Biomedicine}}
+Biomedicine, or Medical biology, is a branch of [[medicine|medical science]] that applies biological and other [[natural science|natural-science]] principles to [[clinical practice]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.memidex.com/biomedicine+applies-biological-physiological |title=biomedicine (applies biological, physiological) - Memidex dictionary/thesaurus |work=memidex.com |date=2012-10-08 |accessdate=2012-10-20}}</ref>
+Biomedicine is related to the ability of humans to cope with environmental stress. The branch especially applies to [[biology]] and [[physiology]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/biomedical|title=biomedicine - The Free Dictionary |year=2013|accessdate= 2013-05-15}}</ref>
+Biomedicine also can relate to many other categories in [[health]] and biological related fields.
 ===Biomonitoring===
 {{main|Biomonitoring}}
+In [[analytical chemistry]], '''biomonitoring''' is the measurement of the '''body burden'''<ref>[http://www.chemicalbodyburden.org/whatisbb.htm What is body burden?]</ref> of toxic [[chemical compound]]s, [[Chemical element|element]]s, or their [[metabolite]]s, in biological substances.<ref name=CDC3rd>{{cite web
+ |url=http://www.clu-in.org/download/contaminantfocus/pcb/third-report.pdf
+ |title=Third National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals
+ |format=PDF
+ |publisher=[[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] &ndash; National Center for Environmental Health
+ |accessdate=9 August 2009
+}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
+ |url=http://www.americanchemistry.com/s_acc/bin.asp?CID=257&DID=1584&DOC=FILE.PDF
+ |title=What is Biomonitoring?
+ |format=PDF
+ |publisher=[[American Chemistry Council]]
+ |accessdate=11 January 2009}}</ref> Often, these measurements are done in blood and urine.<ref name=Angerer07>{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.ijheh.2007.01.024 |title=Human biomonitoring: State of the art |year=2007 |last1=Angerer |first1=Jürgen |last2=Ewers |first2=Ulrich |last3=Wilhelm |first3=Michael |journal=International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health |volume=210 |issue=3–4 |pages=201–28 |pmid=17376741}}</ref>
+The two best established biomonitoring programs in representative samples of the general population are those of the United States and Germany, although population-based programs exist in a few other countries.<ref>Porta M, et al. Monitoring concentrations of persistent organic pollutants in the general population: the international experience. Environment International 2008; 34: 546–561.</ref> In 2001, the U.S. [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] (CDC) began to publish its biennial ''National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals'', which reports a statistically representative sample of the U.S. population.<ref name=CDC_about>{{cite web | title = About the Program | work = cdc.gov | publisher = Centers for Disease Control | date = 3 April 2008 | url = http://www.cdc.gov/biomonitoring/about.html | accessdate = 25 May 2009}}</ref> The [[Environmental Working Group]] has also conducted biomonitoring studies.<ref name=EWG>{{cite web |author= |title=About the Human Toxome Project |url=http://www.ewg.org/sites/humantoxome/about/ |work=Human Toxome Project |publisher=Environmental Working Group |date= |accessdate=30 September 2009}}</ref>
 ===Biophysics===
 {{main|Biophysics}}
+Biophysics is an [[interdisciplinary]] [[science]] using methods of, and theories from, [[physics]] to study [[biology|biological]] systems.<ref>[https://www.biophysics.org/Portals/1/PDFs/Career%20Center/Careers%20In%20Biophysics.pdf Careers in Biophysics brochure, Biophysical Society]</ref> Biophysics spans all [[Structure#Biological structure|levels of biological organization]], from the molecular scale to whole organisms and ecosystems. Biophysical research shares significant overlap with [[biochemistry]], [[nanotechnology]], [[bioengineering]], [[agrophysics]], and [[systems biology]]. It has been suggested as a bridge between biology and physics.
 ===Biopolymers===
 {{main|Biopolymer}}
+'''Biopolymers''' are [[polymer]]s produced by living organisms; in other words, they are polymeric [[biomolecule]]s. Since they are [[polymer]]s, biopolymers contain [[monomeric]] units that are covalently bonded to form larger structures. There are three main classes of biopolymers, classified according to the monomeric units used and the structure of the biopolymer formed: [[polynucleotide]]s ([[RNA]] and [[DNA]]), which are long polymers composed of 13 or more [[nucleotide]] [[monomers]]; [[polypeptides]], which are short polymers of amino acids; and [[polysaccharides]], which are often linear bonded polymeric carbohydrate structures.<ref>Mohanty, A.K., et al., '''Natural Fibers, Biopolymers, and Biocomposites''' (CRC Press, 2005)</ref><ref>Chandra, R., and Rustgi, R., "Biodegradable Polymers", Progress in Polymer Science, Vol. 23, p. 1273 (1998)</ref><ref>Meyers, M.A., et al., "Biological Materials: Structure & Mechanical Properties", Progress in Materials Science, Vol. 53, p. 1 (2008)</ref><ref>Kumar, A., et al., "Smart Polymers: Physical Forms & Bioengineering Applications", Progress in Polymer Science, Vol. 32, p.1205 (2007)</ref>
 ===Biotechnology===
 {{main|Biotechnology}}
+Biotechnology is the use of living systems and organisms to develop or make useful products, or "any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use" (UN Convention on Biological Diversity, Art. 2).<ref>[http://www.cbd.int/convention/text/ Text of the CBD]. Cbd.int. Retrieved on 2013-03-20.</ref>  Depending on the tools and applications, it often overlaps with the (related) fields of [[bioengineering]] and [[biomedical engineering]].
+For thousands of years, humankind has used biotechnology in agriculture, food production, and medicine.<ref>[http://www.public.asu.edu/~langland/biotech-intro.html "Incorporating Biotechnology into the Classroom What is Biotechnology?", from the curricula of the 'Incorporating Biotechnology into the High School Classroom through Arizona State University's BioREACH PROGRAM', accessed on October 16, 2012)]. Public.asu.edu. Retrieved on 2013-03-20.</ref>  The term itself is largely believed to have been coined in 1919 by Hungarian engineer [[Károly Ereky]]. In the late 20th and early 21st century, biotechnology has expanded to include new and diverse sciences such as [[genomics]], [[recombinant gene]] technologies, applied [[immunology]], and development of pharmaceutical therapies and diagnostic tests.<ref>[http://www.public.asu.edu/~langland/biotech-intro.html '&#39;Incorporating Biotechnology into the Classroom – What is Biotechnology?'&#39;, from Incorporating Biotechnology into the High School Classroom through Arizona State University's BioREACH PROGRAM, Arizona State University, Microbiology Department, retrieved October 16, 2012]. Public.asu.edu. Retrieved on 2013-03-20.</ref>
 ===Botany===
 {{main|Botany}}
+Botany, also called plant science(s) or plant biology, is the science of [[plant]] life and a branch of [[biology]]. Traditionally, botany has included the study of fungi and [[algae]], studied by [[mycologist]]s, [[phycologist]]s respectively, with the study of plants and these three groups of organisms remain within the sphere of interest of the [[International Botanical Congress]]. Botany originated in prehistory as [[herbalism]] with the efforts of early humans to identify – and later cultivate – edible, medicinal and poisonous plants, making it one of the oldest branches of science. Medieval [[physic garden]]s, often attached to monasteries, contained plants of medical importance. They were forerunners of the first [[botanical garden]]s attached to universities, founded from the 1540s onwards. Efforts to catalogue and describe their collections were the beginnings of [[plant taxonomy]], and led in 1753 to the [[binomial nomenclature|binomial system]] of [[Carl Linnaeus]] that remains in use to this day.
+In the 19th and 20th centuries, new techniques were developed for the study of plants, including methods of [[optical microscope|optical microscopy]] and [[live cell imaging]], [[electron microscopy]], analysis of [[ploidy|chromosome number]], [[phytochemistry|plant chemistry]] and the structure and function of [[enzyme]]s and other [[protein]]s. In the last two decades of the 20th century, botanists exploited the techniques of [[molecular biology|molecular genetic analysis]], including [[genomics]] and [[proteomics]] and [[DNA sequences]] to classify plants more accurately.
+Modern botany is a broad, multidisciplinary subject with inputs from most other areas of science and technology. Research topics include the study of plant [[Plant morphology|structure]], [[cell growth|growth]] and differentiation, [[Plant reproduction|reproduction]], [[plant physiology#Biochemistry of plants|biochemistry]] and [[metabolism|primary metabolism]], [[phytochemistry|chemical products]], [[Plant morphology#Development|development]], [[plant pathology|diseases]], [[phylogenetics|evolutionary relationships]], systematics, and [[biological classification|plant taxonomy]]. Dominant themes in 21st century plant science are [[molecular genetics]] and [[epigenetics]], which are the mechanisms and control of gene expression during differentiation of [[plant cell]]s and [[Tissue (biology)#Plant tissues|tissues]]. Botanical research has diverse applications in providing [[staple foods]] and [[textile]]s, in modern horticulture, agriculture and [[forestry]], [[plant propagation]], [[Plant breeding|breeding]] and [[genetic modification]], in the synthesis of chemicals and raw materials for construction and energy production, in [[environmental management]], and the maintenance of [[biodiversity]].
 ===Cell biology===
 {{main|Cell biology}}

v t e Natural science
Outline
Earth science Life sciences Physical science Space science
Category Science Portal Commons