Biology facts for kids
Biology is the science of life and living things, and their evolution. Living things include plants, animals, fungi (such as mushrooms), and microorganisms such as bacteria and archaea.
People who study biology are called biologists. Biology looks at how animals and other organisms behave and work, and what they are like. Biology also studies how organisms react with each other and the environment. It has existed as a science for about 200 years, and was preceded by natural history. Biology has many research fields and branches. Like all sciences, biology uses the scientific method. This means that biologists must be able to show evidence for their ideas, and that other biologists must be able to test the ideas for themselves.
Biology attempts to answer questions such as: "What are the characteristics of this living thing?" (comparative anatomy); "How do the parts work?" (physiology); "How should we group living things?" (classification, taxonomy); "What does this living thing do?" (behaviour, growth); "How does inheritance work? (genetics); "What has been the history of life?" (palaeontology). How do organisms relate to their environment? (ecology). All modern biology is influenced by evolution, which answers the question: "How has the living world come to be as it is?"
Branches of biology
- Anatomy
- Botany
- Biochemistry
- Biogeography
- Biophysics
- Cell biology
- Cytology
- Developmental biology
- Ecology
- Entomology
- Ethology
- Evolution / Evolutionary biology
- Embryology
- Genetics / Genomics
- Herpetology
- Histology
- Human biology / Anthropology / Primatology
- Ichthyology
- Limnology
- Mammalogy
- Marine biology
- Microbiology / Bacteriology
- Molecular biology
- Mycology / Lichenology
- Ornithology
- Parasitology
- Palaeontology
- Phycology
- Phylogenetics
- Physiology
- Taxonomy
- Virology
- Zoology
Images for kids
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Diagram of a fly from Robert Hooke's innovative Micrographia, 1665
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In 1842, Charles Darwin penned his first sketch of On the Origin of Species.
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In the Bohr model of an atom, electrons (blue dot) orbit around an atomic nucleus (red-filled circle) in specific atomic orbitals (grey empty circles).
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Organic compounds such as glucose are vital to organisms.
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A phospholipid bilayer consists of two adjacent sheets of phospholipids, with the hydrophilic tails facing inwards and the hydrophobic heads facing outwards.
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The (a) primary, (b) secondary, (c) tertiary, and (d) quaternary structures of a hemoglobin protein
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Bases lie between two spiraling DNA strands.
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The extended central dogma of molecular biology includes all the processes involved in the flow of genetic information.
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Regulation of various stages of gene expression
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Composition of the human genome
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Model of concentration gradient building up; fine yellow-orange outlines are cell boundaries.
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Diversity of protists
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Diversity of plants
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Diversity of fungi. Clockwise from top left: Amanita muscaria, a basidiomycete; Sarcoscypha coccinea, an ascomycete; bread covered in mold; chytrid; Aspergillus conidiophore.
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Bacteriophages attached to a bacterial cell wall
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Reproduction and development in sporophytes
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Negative feedback is necessary for maintaining homeostasis such as keeping body temperature constant.
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Diffusion of water and ions in and out of a freshwater fish
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Different digestive systems in marine fishes
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Asynchronous muscles power flight in most insects. a: Wings b: Wing joint c: Dorsoventral muscles power upstrokes d: Dorsolongitudinal muscles power downstrokes.
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Mouse pyramidal neurons (green) and GABAergic neurons (red)
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Cleavage in zebrafish embryo
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Processes in the primary immune response
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Brood parasites, such as the cuckoo, provide a supernormal stimulus to the parenting species.
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A (a) trophic pyramid and a (b) simplified food web. The trophic pyramid represents the biomass at each level.
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Fast carbon cycle showing the movement of carbon between land, atmosphere, and oceans in billions of tons per year. Yellow numbers are natural fluxes, red are human contributions, white are stored carbon. Effects of the slow carbon cycle, such as volcanic and tectonic activity, are not included.
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Efforts are made to preserve the natural characteristics of Hopetoun Falls, Australia, without affecting visitors' access.
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See also
In Spanish: Biología para niños
