Biology is the science of life in its various manifestations. The functioning of unicellular organisms, the behavior of males and females during the mating season, the patterns of inheritance of traits - this and much more is within the scope of science. The subject of biology is the study of all these manifestations of life. Its methods are aimed at searching for regularities in the structure, functioning of organisms, their interaction with the environment. In fact, they study those properties that distinguish living matter from non-living matter.
Subdivisions
Biology is a collection of several sciences that focus on different objects:
- zoology;
- botany;
- microbiology;
- virology.
Each of them, in turn, can be divided into several smaller ones. For example, ichthyology (the study of fish), ornithology (the study of birds), algology (the study of algae), and so on coexist in zoology.
Classification option
Another principle of dividing biology into components is properties andlevels of organization of living matter. According to him, they distinguish:
- molecular biology;
- biochemistry;
- cytology;
- genetics;
- developmental biology;
- anatomy and physiology of various organisms;
- ecology (often considered today as a separate science);
- embryology;
- theory of evolution.
Thus, the subject of biology remains unchanged - it is life itself. Its various manifestations are studied by separate disciplines. There is also general biology. Its focus is on the properties of living matter that distinguish it from non-living matter, as well as its ordered hierarchical structure and the interconnection of individual systems between themselves and the environment.
Experience and theory
Methods of studying biology are generally similar to the ways of learning in other scientific disciplines. They are divided into empirical (practical, experimental) and theoretical. Practical methods for studying biology reveal various parameters, properties, and characteristics of living systems. Then theories are developed on their basis. This process is cyclic, since empirical methods of studying biology are most often used on the basis of already existing conclusions. Theories, in turn, always require additional empirical testing.
Primary collection of information
One of the main empirical methods is observation. It is the study of the external features of an object and its changes in its natural habitat over time.
Any study of a living system begins with observing it. The history of the study of biology perfectly illustrates this statement. At the first stages of the development of science, researchers could only use this empirical method. Today, observation has not lost its relevance. It, like other methods of studying biology, uses numerous technologies. For observation, binoculars, various cameras (night vision, deep-sea, and so on), a variety of laboratory equipment, such as a microscope, a biochemical analyzer, and others are used.
According to whether the process uses equipment, observation can be divided into two types:
- Immediate. It aims to study the behavior and characteristics of various organisms.
- Instrumental. With the help of various equipment, the study of the characteristics of tissues, organs, cells, analysis of the chemical composition and metabolism is carried out.
Experiment
As you know, not all phenomena and processes associated with living systems can be observed directly in their natural environment. In addition, the understanding of certain regularities requires certain conditions, which are more convenient to create artificially than to wait for their appearance in nature. This approach in biology is called the experimental method. It involves the study of the object in extreme conditions. Examination of the body during exposure to high or low temperatures, high pressure or excessive load, indoorshim in an unusual environment helps to reveal the limits of his endurance, to discover hidden properties and opportunities. With the improvement of technology, the potential of experimental methods increases. The data obtained in this way is becoming more and more accurate. The conditions created during the experiment can be varied almost indefinitely.
One of the main applications of the experiment is to test previously put forward hypotheses. The data obtained on the basis of experience make it possible to correct the theory under consideration, to confirm it, or to lay the foundation for a new one. Experimental methods of studying biology, examples of which can be found in large numbers on the pages of textbooks, contribute to a deeper penetration of scientists into the secrets of living matter. It is thanks to them that modern science has made such progress.
Comparison
The historical method makes it possible to identify evolutionary transformations of communities and species. It is also called comparative. The chemical and anatomical structure, features of functioning, hereditary material of organisms of different levels are analyzed. As objects of the comparative method, not only living organisms are used, but also extinct ones.
This technique became the main source of data for Charles Darwin during his formulation of the theory of evolution.
What I see, I write down
The descriptive method is closely related to observation. It consists in fixing the noticed properties, signs andfeatures of objects with their subsequent analysis. The description method is considered the most ancient in biology: initially, at the dawn of the formation of science, it was with its help that various patterns in nature were discovered. The recorded data are carefully analyzed, divided into important and non-essential within the framework of a particular theory. The described features can be compared, combined, classified. It was only on the basis of this method that new classes and species were discovered in biology.
Without mathematics, nowhere
All information collected on the basis of the methods described requires further transformation. Biology actively uses the mathematical apparatus for this. The data obtained are translated into numbers, on the basis of which certain statistics are built. In biology, it is impossible to unambiguously predict a particular phenomenon. That is why, after analyzing the data, a statistical pattern is revealed. Based on these data, a mathematical model is built that allows predicting some changes within the living system under study.
Such processing allows you to structure the received information. Based on the created models, it is possible to predict the state of the system in almost any period of time. Thanks to the use of a fairly impressive mathematical apparatus, biology is increasingly becoming an exact science.
Synthesis
Along with the penetration into biology of the ideas of cybernetics (they underlie modeling), it actively beginsuse a systematic approach. Both of these trends have an impact on the methods of studying biology. The scheme of the structure of living structures is represented as a hierarchy of systems of different levels. Each higher step is elements interconnected on the basis of certain patterns, which are also systems, but a level lower.
This approach is typical for a large number of disciplines. His penetration into biology testifies to the transition in science as a whole from analysis to synthesis. A period of in-depth study of the internal structures of individual elements gives way to a time of integration. The synthesis of all data obtained in biology, and often in related sciences, will lead to a new understanding of the interconnections of natural systems. An example of concepts built on the basis of integration can be the theory of neurohumoral regulation, the synthetic theory of evolution, modern immunology and systematics. The appearance of each of them was preceded by the accumulation of a large amount of information about individual structural units, signs and characteristics. At the next stage, the collected data allowed to identify patterns and create generalizing concepts.
Trend
Synthetic methods of studying biology testify to the transition from empirical to theoretical knowledge. The initial accumulation of facts and data allows us to put forward some hypotheses. Then, in most cases, they are tested using experimental methods. Confirmed hypotheses are transferred to the rank of patterns and form the basis of theories. Concepts formulated in this way are notabsolute. There is always a chance that new information will require a reconsideration of established views.
All kinds of studying biology are aimed at comprehending the properties and characteristics of life. In this case, it is impossible to single out any one method as the main one. The modern level of knowledge was achieved only through the simultaneous use of all these methods of cognition of the surrounding world. In addition, the methods of studying human biology are no different from the methods of collecting and analyzing data on any other organism. This shows their versatility. For each level of the hierarchical organization of living systems, the same methods of study are used, but in different combinations. The transition to the use of cybernetic and systemic methods indicates integration not only within biology, but throughout science as a whole. The synthesis of knowledge from different disciplines contributes to a deeper understanding of the basic patterns of the world in which we live.
