From the first days of life, the child seeks to know the world around him. The older he gets, the more interesting and fascinating his reality becomes. The world is changing with it. So all of humanity in its development does not stand still. All new discoveries capture us. What was impossible yesterday was becoming commonplace today. A huge contribution to modern scientific and technological progress is made by the science of biology. She studies all aspects of life, explores the stages of the origin and development of living organisms. It is noteworthy that this science was distinguished into a separate industry only in the 19th century, although mankind accumulated knowledge about the world around it throughout its development. The history of biology is very interesting and entertaining. Many people may ask: why should we study this science? It would seem that let scientists do it. How will this discipline help the common man? But without elementary knowledge of the physiology and anatomy of a person, it is impossible, for example, to recover even from a common cold. This science is capable of providing answers to the most complex questions. The main thing that biology can shed light on is the development of life on Earth.
Science in antiquity
Modern biology has its roots in antiquity. It is inextricably linked with the development of civilizations in the era of antiquity in the Mediterranean space. The first discoveries in this area were made by such outstanding figures as Hippocrates, Aristotle, Theophrastus and others. The contribution of scientists to the development of biology is invaluable. Let us dwell in more detail on each of them. The ancient Greek physician Hippocrates (460 - c. 370 BC) gave the first detailed description of the structure of the human body and animals. He pointed out how environmental factors and heredity can affect the development of certain diseases. Modern scientists call Hippocrates the founder of medicine. The outstanding ancient Greek thinker and philosopher Aristotle (384–322 BC) divided the world into four kingdoms: the world of man and animals, the world of plants, the inanimate world (earthly), the world of water and air. He made many descriptions of animals, thereby laying the foundation for taxonomy. Four biological tracts belong to his hand, which contain all the information about animals known at that time. At the same time, the scientist gave not only an external description of the representatives of this kingdom, but also thought about their origin and reproduction. He was the first to describe live birth in sharks and the presence of a special masticatory apparatus in sea urchins, today called the "Aristotelian lantern." Modern scholars highly appreciate the merits of the ancient thinker and believe that Aristotle is the founder of zoology. The ancient Greek philosopher Theophrastus (370 — c. 280 BC) studied the plant world. He described more than 500 representatives of this kingdom. It was he who introduced many botanical terms, such as “fetus,” “pericarp,” “core,” and so on. Scientists consider Theophrastus to be the founder of modern botany.
It is also worth noting the works in the development of biology of ancient Roman scientists, such as Gaius Pliny the Elder (22-79 years) and Claudius Galen (131 years - about 200). Naturalist Pliny the Elder wrote an encyclopedia entitled “Natural History,” which contained all the information about living organisms known at that time. Until the Middle Ages, his work, numbering 37 volumes, was the only complete source of knowledge about nature. The outstanding physician, surgeon and philosopher of his time, Claudius Galen, made a huge contribution to the concept and development of such sciences as anatomy, pharmacology, physiology, neurology, etc. In his studies, he widely used autopsies of mammals. He was the first to describe and compare the anatomy of humans and monkeys. Its main goal was to study the central and peripheral nervous system. The recognition of his merits by colleagues is indicated by the fact that his work on anatomy, based on the autopsy of pigs and monkeys, was used until 1543, until the work on the structure of the human body by Andreas Vesalius appeared. Students of medical institutions studied the works of Galen until the XIX century. And his theory that the brain controls movements using the nervous system is still relevant today. It is better to understand how the emergence and study of this science throughout history took place; the “Development of Biology” table will help us. Here are its main founders.
Development of scienceScientist | The main merits |
Hippocrates | He gave the first description of the structure of the body of man and animal |
Aristotle | Divided the world into four kingdoms, laid the foundation for taxonomy |
Theofrast | Described over 500 species of plants |
Guy Pliny the Elder | Encyclopedia "Natural History" |
Claudius Galen | Compare human and monkey anatomy |
Leonardo da Vinci | Described many plants, human anatomy |
Andreas Vesalius | Founder of Scientific Anatomy |
Karl Linney | Plant and animal classification system |
Karl Baer | Laid the foundations of embryology |
Jean Baptiste Lamarck | Work "Philosophy of Zoology" |
Theodor Schwann and Matthias Jacob Schleiden | Created a cellular theory |
Charles Darwin | Work “On the Origin of Species by Natural Selection” |
Louis Pasteur, Robert Koch, Swordsmen | Experiments in the field of microbiology |
Gregor Mendel, Hugo de Vries | Founders of genetics |
Medieval medicine
The contribution of scientists to the development of biology at these times is enormous. The knowledge of ancient Greek and Roman figures was included in their practice by many doctors of the Middle Ages. It was medicine at that time that received the greatest development. A significant part of the territory of the Roman Empire during this period was conquered by the Arabs. Therefore, the works of Aristotle and many other ancient scholars have come down to us in translation into Arabic. What marked this era in terms of the development of biology? It was the time of the so-called golden age of Islam. It is worth noting the works of such a scientist as Al-Jahiz, who then first expressed his opinion on food chains and evolution. He is the founder of geographical determinism - the science of the influence of natural conditions on the formation of national character and spirit. And the Kurdish author Ahmad ibn Daud al-Dinawari has done a lot for the development of Arab botany. He made a description of more than 637 species of various plants. Of great interest to the world of flora was the trend in herbal medicine.
The doctor from Persia, Muhammad ibn Zakaria ar-Razi, reached great heights in medicine. He experimentally refuted the then reigned Galen's theory of "four vital juices." The prominent Persian doctor Avicenna created one of the most valuable books on medicine under the title “Canon of Medicine”, which was a textbook for European scientists until the 17th century. It is worth recognizing that during the Middle Ages, few scientists achieved fame. It was the heyday of theology and philosophy. Scientific medicine was then in decline. This state of affairs was observed until the beginning of the Renaissance. Next, the stages of development of biology in this time period will be described.
Renaissance Biology
In the 16th century, interest in physiology and natural history in Europe intensified. Anatomists practiced the autopsy of human bodies after death. In 1543, Vesalius published a book entitled "On the structure of the human body." The history of biology here makes a new round. In medicine, herbal treatment was common. This could not but affect the growing interest in the world of flora. Fuchs and Brunfels in their works laid the foundation for a large-scale description of plants. Even the artists of that time showed interest in the structure of the bodies of animals and humans. They painted their paintings, working side by side with naturalists. Leonardo da Vinci and Albrecht Durer in the process of creating their masterpieces tried to get detailed descriptions of the anatomy of living bodies. The first of them, by the way, often watched the flight of birds, talked about many plants, shared information on the structure of the human body.
No less tangible contribution to the science of that era was made by such scientists as alchemists, encyclopedists, doctors. An example of this is the work of Paracelsus. Thus, it is clear that the development of biology in the pre-Darwinian period was extremely uneven.
XVII century
The most important find of this time is the opening of the second circle of blood circulation, which gave a new impetus to the development of anatomy and the emergence of the doctrine of microorganisms. Then the first microbiological studies were done. For the first time, a description was given of plant cells that could only be examined under a microscope. This device, by the way, was invented by John Lippersgue and Zachary Jansen in 1590 in Holland.
The device was constantly improved. And soon the artisan Anthony van Levenguk, who was interested in microscopes, was able to see and sketch red blood cells, human sperm, as well as a number of very small living organisms (bacteria, ciliates, and so on). The development of biology as a science at this time reaches a whole new level. Much has been done in the field of physiology and anatomy. A doctor from England,
William Harvey, who opened animals and conducted blood circulation tests, made a number of important discoveries: he discovered venous valves, proved the isolation of the right and left ventricles of the heart. It is difficult to overestimate his contribution to the development of biology. He opened a
pulmonary circulation. A naturalist from Italy, Francesco Redi, proved the impossibility of spawning flies from the remains of rotten meat.
The history of biology in the XVIII century
Further, human knowledge in the field of natural sciences expanded. The most important events of the eighteenth century were the publication of the works of Karl Linnaeus ("System of Nature") and Georges Buffon ("General and Private Natural History"). Numerous experiments were conducted in the field of plant development and animal embryology. Discoveries were made by scientists such as Caspar Friedrich Wolf, who, on the basis of his observations, proved the gradual development of the embryo from a solid germ, and Albrecht von Haller. The most important stages in the development of biology and embryology in the 18th century are associated with these names. It is true, however, that these scientists advocated different approaches to the study of science: Wolf - the ideas of epigenesis (the development of an organism in the embryo), and Haller - the concepts of preformism (the presence in the germ cells of special material structures that determine the development of the embryo).
Science in the 19th Century
It is worth mentioning that the development of biology as a science began only in the 19th century. The word itself has already been used by scientists earlier. However, his meaning was completely different. For example, Karl Linney called biologists the people who made up the biographies of botanists. But later this word came to be called a science that studies all living organisms. We have already touched upon such topics as the development of biology in the pre-Darwinian period. At the beginning of the XIX century, the emergence of such a science as paleontology took place. Discoveries in this area are associated with the name of the greatest scientist - Charles Darwin, who in the second half of the century published a book called "The Origin of Species." We will touch on his work in more detail in the next chapter. The emergence of cellular theory, the formation of phylogenetics, the development of microscopic anatomy and cytology, the formation of the doctrine of the occurrence of infectious diseases by infection with a specific pathogen, and much more - all this is connected with the development of science in the 19th century.
Proceedings of Charles Darwin
The first book of the greatest scientist is The Journey of a Naturalist Around the World on a Ship. Further, the object of Darwin's study was the barnacle crayfish. The result was the writing and publication of a four-volume work on the physiology of these animals. Zoologists still use this work of his. But still the main work of Charles Darwin is the book The Origin of Species, which he began to write in 1837.
The book was supplemented and reprinted several times. It described in detail the breeds of domestic animals and plant varieties, outlined his thoughts on natural selection.
The evolutionary developmental biology in Darwin's concept is the variability of species and varieties under the influence of heredity and external environmental factors, as well as their natural origin from earlier species. The scientist came to the conclusion that any plant or animal in nature tends to multiply exponentially. However, the number of individuals of this species remains constant. This means that the law of survival operates in nature. Strong organisms survive, acquiring traits that are useful for the whole species, and then multiply, and weak ones die in adverse environmental conditions. This is called natural selection. For example, a female cod produces up to seven million eggs. Only 2% of their total number survive. But environmental conditions may change. Then completely different traits in the species will be useful. As a result, the direction of natural selection is changing. The appearance of individuals may change. A new species appears, which, while maintaining favorable factors, spreads. Later, in 1868, Charles Darwin published his second evolutionary work, entitled “Changing Animals and Plants at Home”. However, his work was not widely recognized. It is worth mentioning another important work of the great scientist - the book "The Origin of Man and Sexual Selection." In it, he cited many arguments in favor of the fact that man descended from ape-like ancestors.
What does the XX century prepare for us?
Many global discoveries in science were made in the past century. At this time, the biology of human development gives a new round. This is the era of the development of genetics. By 1920, the chromosome theory of heredity was formed. And after World War II, molecular biology began to develop rapidly. Directions in the development of biology have changed.
Genetics
In 1900, Mendel’s laws were rediscovered, so to speak, by such scientists as De Frieze and others. Soon after this, the discovery of cytologists followed that the genetic material of cellular structures is contained in chromosomes. In 1910-1915, the working group of the scientist Thomas Hunt Morgan, based on experiments with the fruit fly (Drosophila), developed the so-called "Mendelian chromosome theory of heredity." Biologists have found that the genes on the chromosomes are linearly arranged, like the “beads on a string”. De Vries is the first scientist to have suggested a gene mutation. Next, the concept of gene drift was given. And in 1980, American experimental physicist Luis Alvarez put forward the meteorite hypothesis of the extinction of dinosaurs.
The emergence and development of biochemistry
Even more outstanding discoveries awaited scientists in the near future. At the beginning of the 20th century, an active study of vitamins began. A little earlier, the pathways for the metabolism of poisons and drugs, proteins and fatty acids were discovered. In the years 1920-1930, scientists Karl and Gerti Corey, as well as Hans Krebs, described carbohydrate conversions. This marked the beginning of the study of the synthesis of porphyrins and steroids. At the end of the century, Fritz Lipman made the following discovery: adenosine triphosphate was recognized as the universal carrier of biochemical energy in the cell, and mitochondria was called its main energy “station”. Instruments for conducting laboratory experiments became more complicated, new methods for obtaining knowledge, such as electrophoresis and chromatography, appeared. Biochemistry, which was one of the branches of medicine, stood out as a separate science.
Molecular biology
All new related disciplines appeared in the study of biology. Many scientists have tried to establish the nature of the gene. When conducting research for this purpose, the new term “molecular biology” appeared. The object of study was viruses and bacteria. A bacteriophage, a virus that selectively infected cells of a specific bacterium, was isolated. The experiments were also carried out on flies of Drosophila, with bread mold, corn and so on. The history of biology is such that new discoveries were made with the advent of completely new research equipment. So, an electron microscope and a high-speed centrifuge were soon invented. These devices allowed scientists to discover the following: the genetic material on the chromosomes is represented by DNA, not protein, as previously thought; the DNA structure was restored in the form of a double helix known to us today.
Genetic Engineering
The development of modern biology does not stand still. Genetic engineering is another “byproduct” of studying this discipline. It is to this science that we owe the appearance of certain drugs, such as insulin and threonine. Despite the fact that it is currently at the stage of development and study, in the near future we may already be able to "taste" its fruits. These are new vaccines against dangerous diseases, and cultivars that are not exposed to drought, cold, diseases, and pests. Many scientists believe that with the help of the achievements of this science we can forget about the use of harmful pesticides and herbicides. However, the development of this discipline causes a mixed assessment in modern society. Many people, not without reason, fear that the result of research may be the emergence of pathogens of dangerous human and animal diseases that are resistant to antibiotics and other drugs.
The latest discoveries in biology and medicine
Science continues to evolve. Many more mysteries await our scientists in the future. A brief history of the development of biology is being studied at the school today. The first lesson on this topic is in the 6th grade. Let's see what our children have to learn in the near future. Here is a list of discoveries that have been made in the new century.
- The Human Genome Project. Work on it has been ongoing since 1990. At this time, the US Congress allocated a significant amount of money for research. In 1999, more than 2 dozen genes were decoded. In 2001, the first “sketch” of the human genome was made. In 2006, the work was completed.
- Nanomedicine - treatment with special microdevices.
- Methods of "growing" human organs (liver tissue, hair, heart valves, muscle cells, and so on) are being developed.
- The creation of artificial human organs, which in their characteristics will not be inferior to natural ones (synthetic muscles and so on).
The period when the history of the development of biology is studied in more detail is grade 10. At this stage, students gain knowledge in biochemistry, cytology, and the reproduction of organisms. This information may be useful to students in the future.
We examined the periods of development of biology as a separate science, and also identified its main directions.