What is life science?
Life science or life sciences includes scientific fields related to the study of the science of living organisms - such as microorganisms, plants, animals, and humans - as well as related fields such as bioethics. While biology remains central to life science, technological advances in molecular biology and biotechnology have led to the development of specialties and interdisciplinary fields (interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary encompasses approaches, ways of thinking, or at least research methods from many distinct areas of expertise).
Some branches of life science focus on a specific type of life. For example, zoology is the study of animals, while botany is the study of plants. Others focus on aspects common to all or many forms of life, such as anatomy and genetics. However, other fields are concerned with technological advances related to living organisms, such as bioengineering. Another important branch, which may be particularly relevant, relates to understanding the mind - neuroscience.
Life science is essential in improving the quality and standards of life. They have many applications in health care, agriculture, medicine, and the pharmaceutical and food science industries.
There is overlap between many branches among the research topics of life science.
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The term biology in English is called biology, originating from the Greek with βίος, bios, "life" and the suffix -λογία, -logia, "study." This Latin term first appeared in 1736: the Swedish scientist Carl Linnaeus (Carl von Linné) used the word biologi in his book Bibliotheca botanica (Botanical Dictionary). It was reused in 1766 in a work titled Philosophiae naturalis sive physicae: tomus III, continens geologian, biologian, phytologian generalis (Natural Philosophy and Physics: Volume III) written by Michael Christoph Hanov, a student of Christian Wolff. The German term, biologie, first appeared in a translation of Linnaeus's work in 1771. In 1797, Theodor Georg August Roose used the term in the preface of the book titled Grundzüge der Lehre van der Lebenskraft (The Main Features of the Doctrine of Life). Karl Friedrich Burdach used this term in 1800 in a study of humans from the perspectives of morphology, physiology, and psychology (Propädeut zum Studien der Gesammten Heilkunst). The term in its current form appears in the six-volume thesis: Biologie, oder Philosophie der lebenden Nature (Biology, or Philosophy of Living Nature) (1802-22) by Gottfried Reinhold Treviranus, who stated:
Biology, or biological science (abbreviated as bio) (English: biology), is a branch of natural science that studies the world of living organisms and the characteristics of life. It is a broad field of science but has several unifying themes that connect it into a single, coherent discipline. The field focuses on studying living individuals, their relationships with each other and with the environment, describing the characteristics and behaviors of organisms (e.g., structure, function, development, habitat), and how individuals and species exist (e.g., their origins, evolution, and distribution). Metabolism is crucial for organisms, helping them grow, move, and reproduce. Ultimately, all organisms can regulate their internal environment.
Biology encompasses many different fields of study based on distinct principles. There are 4 principles that form the foundation of modern biology: the cell theory, evolution, genetics, and homeostasis. These subjects are interrelated, helping us understand life at different levels and scopes.
The emergence of biology began in the 19th century when scientists discovered fundamental common characteristics among species. Today, biology has become a standard and mandatory subject in schools and universities around the world. Many articles are published annually in various specialized journals on medicine and biology.
The classification of subfields of biology is very diverse. Initially, they were classified according to the types of organisms being studied. For example: botany, the study of plants; zoology, the study of animals; and microbiology, the study of microorganisms. Next, they are further divided based on the scale of the organisms and the methods used to study them: biochemistry studies the basic chemistry of life; molecular biology studies the complex interactions between the systems of biological molecules; cell biology explores the basic structures that make up all life. Thus, life at the atomic and molecular level is studied through molecular biology, biochemistry, and molecular genetics. At the cellular level, it is understood through cell biology, and at the multicellular level, it is through physiology, anatomy, and histology. Developmental biology studies life at different stages of development or the individual development of organisms.
At a larger scale, genetics is concerned with heredity between parents and offspring. Ethology studies the behavioral patterns of a group of individuals. Population genetics examines entire populations, and systematics is concerned with the evolution of many species within evolutionary branches. The interactions between populations and their ecological niches are the subjects of ecology and evolutionary biology. A relatively new field is astrobiology, which studies the possibility of life existing beyond Earth.
Although modern biology is a development in relatively recent times, the related sciences that include it have been studied since ancient times. Natural philosophy was studied as early as ancient civilizations such as Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indian subcontinent, and China. However, the origins of modern biology and the approach to studying nature seem to stem from ancient Greece. While formal studies of medicine began in the time of Hippocrates (around 460-370 BC), it was Aristotle (384-322 BC) who contributed the most to the development of biology. Particularly important is his work, History of Animals, along with other works, which show tendencies towards natural history; followed by more experimental works focusing on biological causes and the diversity of life. Aristotle's successor was Theophrastus of Lyceum, who wrote a series of books on botany. This collection remains the most significant contribution of ancient times to the field of botany, even into the Middle Ages.
Classification of Research in Biology
- Molecular Biology
Molecular biology is a branch of biology that studies the molecular basis of biological activity within and between cells, including processes such as synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and molecular interactions. The study of the chemical and physical structure of macromolecules is called molecular biology.
Molecular biology was first described as an approach focused on the foundations of biological phenomena, aimed at exploring the structure and interactions of biological molecules, and how these interactions explain biological phenomena.
In 1945, the term "molecular biology" was used by physicist William Astbury. The development in the field of molecular biology occurred quite late due to the organism's body being a complex system, and the simplest and most convenient approach was to use bacteria and bacteriophages that could only provide information about basic biological processes. In 1953, two young scientists at the time named Francis Crick and James Watson working at the Medical Research Council unit, Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge (now the MRC Molecular Biology Laboratory), created a double helix model of DNA. This new model changed the entire structure of DNA that they had previously proposed based on studies conducted by Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins. After the DNA structure model, the research of the two scientists mainly focused on the goal of finding DNA within other microorganisms, plants, and animals.
Molecular biology is not simply the study of molecules and their interactions. More precisely, molecular biology is a set of techniques developed since the field began, allowing scientists to explore molecular processes. A notable technique that revolutionized this field is the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), developed in 1983. PCR is a reaction that amplifies a small amount of DNA, and is used in many scientific fields.
The central thesis of molecular biology states that the flow of information runs in one direction from DNA to mRNA and then to protein. The processes of transcription, translation, and DNA replication follow this rule. An exception is found in some RNA viruses, which have a process called reverse transcription, creating a DNA copy from their RNA genome.
Molecular biology plays an important role in understanding the structure, function, and processes of homeostasis within cells. All of this knowledge can be used to develop new drugs and diagnostic methods, and to gain a better understanding of cellular physiological processes. Some clinical studies and medical therapies developed from molecular biology are used in gene therapy. Meanwhile, the use of molecular biology or molecular cell biology in medicine today is referred to as molecular medicine.
2. Biotechnology
It is a broad field of biology, related to the use of living systems and organisms to develop or create products. Depending on the tools and applications, it often overlaps with related scientific fields. By the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, biotechnology has expanded to include new and diverse scientific disciplines, such as genomics, recombinant gene engineering, immunology, and the development of pharmaceutical therapies and diagnostic tests. The term "Biotechnology" was first used by "Karl Ereky" in 1919, meaning the production of products from raw materials with the help of living organisms.
The broad concept of "biotechnology" encompasses a range of processes that modify living organisms for human purposes, dating back to the domestication of animals, agriculture, and "improvement" through selective breeding and hybridization programs. Modern usage also includes genetic engineering as well as cell and tissue culture technology. The American Chemical Society defines biotechnology as the application of organisms, systems, or processes from various industries to understand life sciences and enhance the value of materials and organisms such as pharmaceuticals, crops, and livestock. According to the European Biotechnology Federation, biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and organisms, cells, their parts, and molecular analogs for products and services. Biotechnology is based on fundamental biological sciences (e.g., molecular biology, biochemistry, cell biology, embryology, genetics, microbiology) and conversely provides methods to support and conduct basic research in biology.
Biotechnology is the research and development in laboratories using bioinformatics for exploration, exploitation, and production from any living organism and any biomass source through biochemical engineering methods where high-value-added products can be planned (replicated by synthetic biology, for example), forecasted, constructed, developed, produced, and marketed for sustainable operational purposes (to recoup from the initial bottomless investment in R & D) and to obtain sustainable patents (for the right to exclude sales and previously to receive national and international approval from the results of animal testing and human trials, especially in the biotechnology pharmaceutical industry to prevent any undetected side effects or safety concerns by using the products). The use of biological processes, organisms, or systems to produce products that are predicted to improve human life is called biotechnology.
In contrast, bioengineering is often considered a related field, focusing more on higher-level systemic approaches (not necessarily altering or directly using biological materials) to interface and utilize living organisms. Bioengineering is the application of engineering principles and natural sciences to tissues, cells, and molecules. This can be seen as the use of knowledge from working with and manipulating biology to achieve results that can improve functions in plants and animals. Relatedly, biomedical engineering is an overlapping field, often based on and applying biotechnology (according to various definitions), particularly in some subfields of biomedical or chemical engineering such as tissue engineering, biopharmaceutical engineering, and genetic engineering.