Biology is the term by which a whole system of sciences is called. She generally studies living things, as well as their interaction with the outside world. Biology explores absolutely all aspects of the life of any living organism, including evolution, forms of behavior, its origin, reproduction and growth.
When did the term “biology” appear? As a separate science, it began to emerge only at the beginning of the 19th century. And who coined the term "biology"? You will learn more about this later.
Antiquity and the origin of the first biological disciplines
Before you know when the term “biology” appeared, you should talk a little about the origin of this discipline as such. It is believed that it was the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle who first laid the foundations of biological disciplines - the foundation of such sciences as zoology and botany. Archaeologists have found a lot of material artifacts on which Aristotle's works on animals are recorded. He first cited the links between certain species of animals. It was Aristotle who noticed that all artiodactyls chew gum.
Dioscorides is considered to be an equally important scientist in the field of biology, who throughout his life has compiled a large list of medicinal plants and described their effect (a total of about six hundred plants).
Another ancient philosopher, Theophrastus, wrote a huge work entitled "Studies on plants." In it, he developed the thoughts of Aristotle, but exclusively about plants and their properties.
Middle Ages
Who coined the term "biology" and when did this happen? It is too early to talk about this, since after the decline of the Western Roman Empire, many knowledge, including about medicine, biology, was lost. Arabs in the early Middle Ages occupy a vast territory and fall into their hands the works of Aristotle - after which they will be translated into Arabic.
In the VIII century, great success was achieved by Arab researchers in the field of botany and anatomy. In zoology, the Arab writer Al Jahis, who was the first to put forward the theory of evolution, was very successful, he also proposed the theory of food chains.
Al-Danavari became the founder of the botany of the Arab world. Like Aristotle, Al Danavari described approximately six hundred plant species, as well as their development and growth phases of each of them.
An incredibly large contribution to the development of biology and especially medicine was made by the Arab physician Aviatsen. He wrote the famous book "The Canon of Medicine", which remained in service with European doctors until the 18th century, inclusive. It was Aviatsen who presented humanity with pharmacology and described the first clinical studies, which subsequently seriously influenced the study of human anatomy and methods of combating diseases.
Ibn Zuhr studied the nature of such a disease as scabies, and performed surgical operations, as well as the first clinical experiments on animals. In medieval Europe, medicine and the study of sciences such as botany, zoology were not widespread, primarily due to the influence of the Catholic Church.
Renaissance and interest in medicine, biology
In the Renaissance, the meaning of the term "biology" was not yet known. But the position of the church significantly weakened, and scientists, most of them in Italy, began to show interest in botany, zoology, anatomy and medicine - they began to study the works of scientific figures of Antiquity.
Already in the XVI century, the Dutch scientist Vesalius laid the foundations of modern anatomy. To write his works, he personally opened human bodies and investigated the structure of internal organs.
Researchers returned to a tight study of plants, that is, to botany, as they realized that many herbs have quite strong healing properties and help in curing diseases.
In the XVI century, the description of animals and their way of life turned into a whole scientific direction for the study of the entire known animal world.
An equally important contribution to the development of biology was made by Leonardo da Vinci, Paracelsus, who continued to study anatomy and pharmacology.
In the XVII century, the scientist Caspar Baugin described all the plants known at that time in Europe - more than six thousand species. Hive Harvey, conducting an autopsy of animals, made a number of important discoveries that relate to blood circulation.
In the XVII century, a new biological discipline was born, associated with the invention of the microscope. Thanks to his discovery, people learned about the existence of microscopic single-celled organisms, which caused a resonance in society. Then, human sperm cells were first studied.
Which scientist used the term "biology"?
At the beginning of the XIX century, biological disciplines grew into a full-fledged science, which was recognized by the scientific community.
So which scientist suggested using the term "biology"? When did it happen?
The term "biology" was proposed by the German anatomist and physiologist Friedrich Burdach, who specialized in the study of the human brain. This event took place in 1800.
Also, it is worth saying that biology is a term that was proposed by two more scientists who did not know about Burdakh's proposal. In 1802, Gottfried Treviranus and Jean Baptiste Lamarck simultaneously announced this. The definition of the term "biology" has become known to all scientists working in this direction.
Biology in the 19th century
Now that it is known who proposed the term "biology", it is worth talking about its further development. One of the key works of the 19th century was the publication of Charles Darwin's Origin of Species. At the same time, scientists discovered fundamental differences between the inanimate and living worlds. Doctors and scientists continued to experiment on animals, which gave a huge impetus to understanding the work of internal organs.
Biology in the 20th Century
The discovery of Mendeleev fundamentally changed pharmaceuticals and other disciplines - he created the so-called periodic table. After the discovery of Mendeleev, scientists discovered chromosomes as carriers of genetic information.
Genetics was born in the 1920s. Around the same period, the study of vitamins and their use began. In the late 1960s, the DNA code was deciphered, which led to the emergence of such a biological discipline as genetic engineering. She is currently engaged in an active study of human and animal genes, and is also looking for ways to change them through piece mutations.
The development of biology in the 21st century
In the 21st century, many problems remained unresolved. One of the most important is the problem of the origin of life on Earth. Also, the researchers did not come to a consensus on how the triplet code came about.
Very active biologists and genetics are working on the issue of aging. Scientists are trying to understand why organisms are aging and what causes the aging process. This problem is called one of the greatest mysteries of mankind, the solution of which will forever change the world.
No less active are researchers, especially botanists, working on the problem of the origin of life on other planets. Such studies will play a large role in space exploration and other planets.
Principles of biology
In total, there are only five fundamental principles. They combine absolutely all biological disciplines into one single science of living organisms, whose name is biology. The term includes the following principles:
- Evolution is a natural process of development of any living organism, during which there is a change in the genetic code of the organism.
- Energy is an indispensable attribute of any living organism. In short, the flow of energy, and only constant, ensures the survival of the body.
- Cellular theory (a cell is the basic unit of a living being). All cells of the body originate from one single egg. Their reproduction occurs due to the division of one cell into two.
- Gene theory (a small part of a DNA molecule that is responsible for storing and transmitting genetic information from one generation to another).
- Homeostasis is the process of self-regulation of the body and its restoration to the norms of balance.
Biological disciplines
At the moment, biology is a term that includes several dozen disciplines, each of which has a narrow specialization, but the above principles of this science are applicable to all of them.
Among the most popular disciplines are:
- Anatomy is a discipline that studies the structure of multicellular organisms, the structure, and also the functions of internal organs.
- Botany is a discipline that studies purely plants, both multicellular and unicellular.
- Virology is an important branch of microbiology that deals with the study and control of viruses that are dangerous to humans and also to animals. At the moment, virology is a weapon to fight viruses, and therefore, save millions of people.
- Genetics and genetic engineering are sciences that study the laws of heredity and variability of organisms. The latter deals with gene manipulation, which makes it possible to modify organisms and even create new ones.
- Zoology is a science that studies the animal world or, more simply, fauna.
- Ecology is a science that studies the interaction of any living organism with other organisms, as well as their interaction with the outside world.
Now you know which scientist proposed the term "biology", what path this science has taken. We hope the information was helpful.