Biology Abbreviations

What is biology?

Biology is the study of life. It deals with knowledge about ourselves and about the world of which we are part and in which we operate. It is a word formed by the Greek terms “ bios ” (life) and “ logos ” (study) whose literal meaning is “study of life”. It is a natural science that studies the origin and characteristics of living beings and their interactions with the environment.

Living things are divided into five major kingdoms, classified according to the number of cells (unicellular or multicellular), cellular organization (prokaryotes or eukaryotes) and type of nutrition (autotrophs or heterotrophs):

Kingdom Monera: unicellular organisms and prokaryotes (cells without an individual nucleus). Example: bacteria and algae

Kingdom Protista: unicellular organisms and eukaryotes (cells with individual nucleus). Example: protozoa and unicellular algae

Kingdom Fungi: eukaryotic and heterotrophic organisms (they do not synthesize their own food). Ex: fungi, mushrooms, molds

Kingdom Plantae (Metaphyta): multicellular, eukaryote and autotrophic (photosynthetic) organisms. eg: plants

Kingdom Animalia (Metazoa): multicellular, eukaryotic and heterotrophic organisms.

Biology is subdivided into different areas to deepen the diverse and complex aspects related to living beings, some of which are: Anatomy, Evolutionary Biology, Cellular and Molecular Biology, Botany, Ecology, Genetics, Histology, Zoology.

Some scientists with relevant contributions in some areas of Biology were: Alexander Fleming (British doctor – discovered penicillin), Carlos Linnaeus (Swedish botanist – father of modern taxonomy), Charles Darwin (British naturalist – theory of evolution of species), Louis Pasteur (French chemist – inventor of pasteurization), among others.

List of Acronyms Related to Biology