What is Biology?
The field of Biology is considered to be the widest and the broadest field in the world of science and covers most of the living aspects existing within the world. The word Biology has been derived from two Greek words, ‘Bios’ meaning ‘Life’ and ‘Logos’ meaning ‘Study’ and thus is defined as the science that carries out studies of life, living organisms, and their evolution.
Since it takes into account the study of living organisms, it is important that one is aware of the meaning of living organisms.
By definition, living organisms are living entities that may be unicellular, that is consisting of one cell, like bacteria or may be multicellular, that is consisting of more than one cell.
Biology is concerned with carrying out studies of physical structure, molecular interactions, physiological mechanisms, development, evolution and chemical processes taking place within a living organism. For biology, ‘cell’ is regarded to be the basic unit of life, ‘gene’ as the basic unit of heredity and ‘evolution’ is considered to be the engine that is responsible for driving the processes of creation and extinction of species.
Within the living organisms, it is essential that a proper balance is maintained for ensuring stability and vitality. This is carried out through the transformation of energy and by decreasing levels of living beings’ local entropy and the entire process is defined as Homeostasis.
The people associated with carrying out studies of biological fields are referred to as Biologists. They look into the behavior and working of animals and other organisms and also carries out studies of the interactiontaking place between an organism and its external environment etcetera. The biologywas earlier introduced as natural historyand since then it has continued to be a vital part of the field of science for200 years. The field of biology consists of numerous research fields and like, the other fields of sciences make use of the scientific method for procuring results. This gives the biologists the appropriate space and the chance that they require for display of ideas along with the evidence and also provides with the opportunity of testing others’ ideas for their own selves.
The person possessing the knowledge of biology has the opportunities to work in a variety of fields, namely Research, healthcare, environmental conservation, education, forensic science, biotechnology, economics, business and industries, government policies and many others which is going to be discussed further in detail as follows:
Research: The field of research is known to be a highly encouraging career option for the biology students. The research biologists seek to develop an understanding and knowledge about the various living organisms present around our beingby the means of carrying out studies on them. The field of research is considered to be the broadest of all for the people possessing a biology degree as it is mandatory for all the specializations to conduct researches. The medical and life sciences field is said to be one of the most common fields for conducting researches as it covers areas like neurology, genomics, pharmacology, microbiology & health and disease. The researchers are also responsible for the development of societal knowledge.
Healthcare: Healthcare is yet another field into which the biology aspirants commonly seek to fit into. The biologist working in this field are seen developing campaigns for severe diseases like AIDS, Tuberculosis, Heart Diseases and Cancer and for many other not so fatal illnesses. There aren’t many advanced working options given to the undergraduate degree holding biology students. However, due to its large-scale hiring capacities, the biologists are found to be in higher demands within the medical world. Along with providing treatment and developing the human health, with advanced qualifications the research biologists are provided with the opportunities to work as doctors, nurses, dentists, veterinarians and as other healthcare providers. The employment of biologists is seen not only within the hospitals or other medical institutions but is also seen at organizations like Peace Corps which works towards extending medical facilities to the developing and war struck regions.
Environmental Conservation: It is a known fact that the humans are not the only living creatures present on the earth. The main aim of environmental biologists is to ensure conservation and sustenance of the entire spectrum of the organisms living in the world for future generations. The environmental biologists are also interested in finding out solutions to environmental problems and providing protection to the natural resources, plant life, and animal life. The students possessing a biology degree within this field have the opportunities to work as a zoo biologist, conservation biologist, ecologist, environmental manager and marine or an aquatic biologist. The biologists working within these fields conduct several recovery programs for the endangered species and creates provision of providing education to the general public. The industries interested in the recruitment of these biologists include government, public sector, and ecological consultancies as well as charitable and non-profit organizations.
Education: Providing education to people and spreading knowledge amongst others continues to be a nobility. A person possessing a biology degree and appropriate teaching qualifications is found to be eligible for working as an educationist. Teaching and expanding the knowledge web among the young students within a classroom, lecture theater, laboratory and a museum is a fun task for the educationist biologist. The higher one climbs over the education ladder, greater is the degree of qualifications required for reaching a particular level of education provider job. For example, a university lecturer is required to possess master’s degree or even Ph.D. in some cases while a primary or secondary school teacher, on the other hand, is required to possess an undergraduate degree in biology along with a specialized teacher training qualification. Also, the biologists who wish to opt for higher studies and work at higher education level is capable enough to produce his/her own research, get it published and/or has the opportunity to become the member of the advisory board within his/her field.
Biotechnology: The field of biotechnology makes use of the scientific principles for developing and enhancing technology within various sectors such as the technology market, consumer goods market, business, and industry. The use of biotechnology has been observed in agricultural, food science and medicine sector wheretechniques like that of drug development, genetic engineering along with the use of advancing technologies like nanotechnology has been observed in these fields.
Forensic Science: A forensic scientist is required to work within the legal sector, along with the law enforcement agencies and police departments for carrying out tests and processing evidence that has been collected during the criminal investigations. Areas of specialization within the forensic science sector are forensic anthropology, forensic odontology, medical examiner and crime scene examination.
Government and Policy: The expert biologists work in proximity with the government officials and policymakers in order to help them in making legislative policies on topics of interest such as biomedical research and environmental regulation. The role of the biologist in this field is to ensure that all the changes that take place within the legal system are based on solid science. The biologists are provided with the opportunity to work as a political advisor at the regional and national level for various scientific organizations and agencies as well as for various non-profit entities. A biologist may even act as a representative for a political committee or group.
Business and Industry: In the current times, the pharmaceutical industry is considered as a multi-billionaire industry that requires skilled biologists to work with them for carrying out researches and conducting testing of new products and then preparing these products for sale in the marketplace. The biologists also find jobs at various other commercial industries like scientific service companies, public relations, marketing, and sales.
Economics: It is the appropriate career opportunity for the biologists who tend to have a strong numerical brain and therefore can pursue their career in biological economics. An economic biologist is required to work within government organizations for examining the economic causes of the biological problems that arise within the society such as the issues of extinction, deforestation, and pollution. The different branches of biological economics are socioeconomics, ecological economics, and environmental economics.
Science Publishing and Communication:The integration of media and journalism careers with biology is fairly wide-ranging and provides with a broad scope of employment. A person possessing a keen interest in publishing papers or journalism and knowledge of biology can enter the field as a science writer or by working on scientific publications in the form of magazine, journal, website, TV program or film. Through this, it also enables the biologist to educate the general public about the various biological issues that exist within the contemporary society.
Would you like to read more about this topic? This book might interest you: Biology Textbook.