Branches of biology and auxiliary sciences

The Branches of biology are numerous and cover different areas within the generality that this science supposes. The branches of biology are the different specializations of the more general science that is biology . In addition, biology is supported by other sciences such as chemistry, geology, physics…

Biology is the science that studies life , specifically living beings since “studying living beings” is a very broad field: some examples that we will expand on later are nutrition, reproduction, morphology, development or the evolution of life with one of the great scientists in history Charles Darwin. Branches of biology

Knowing the branches of the so-called biological sciences is of great interest when it comes to research or in a more practical way to be able to choose the field of study in which we want to specialize , and thus be able to choose a university that suits professional development in biology What are we looking for. There are specialized universities in the different branches to be able to study and specialize in them. Others can be accessed through doctoral studies. Branches of biology

Below is a breakdown of traditional specialties or branches of biology and the most current ones, since they are advancing more every day in a multitude of very varied disciplines. Choosing between them is sometimes difficult. (Other times it is difficult to find a biology university that has the specialty we are looking for). Branches of biology

Main branches of biology

• Cell biology or cytology : branch of biology specializing in the study of the structure and function of cells beyond what molecular biology studies.
• Developmental biology : is the branch that studies the development of living beings from the time they are conceived until they are born. Branches of biology
• Marine biology : is the discipline of biology that studies biological phenomena in the marine environment.
• molecular biology ; studies biological processes at the molecular level or also the study of the structure, function and composition of biologically important molecules within their function in living beings. For example, it studies protein synthesis, DNA replication and aspects related to metabolism.
• Botany : Science or branch of biology that studies plants, especially at the taxonomic level.
• Ecology : branch of biology that studies the relationship of living beings and their habitat .
• Physiology : studies the functions of living beings such as respiratory functions, blood circulation, nervous system… Also within plants, how the sap circulates, how they reproduce, how they relate to the environment… in this case, biology has branched out into plant physiology and animal physiology.
• Genetics : science that studies genes, their inheritance, repair, expression… Branches of biology
• Microbiology : Science or branch of biology that studies microorganisms.
• Zoology : Discipline derived from biology that studies animal life. Branches of biology

Among the auxiliary sciences that collaborate with biology are many other basic sciences such as:

• Physics : the dynamics of fluids such as blood, nerve impulse transmission, are some of the examples where physics acts as an auxiliary science of biology.
• Mathematics : the mathematical modeling of the population dynamics of ecosystems is one of the aspects in which mathematics is auxiliary to biology, but not the only one, it also supports epidemiology, and everything in general.
• Chemistry : chemistry and biology come together in biochemistry, but chemical reactions both inside and outside living beings condition: the redox potential, salt concentrations… these are basic chemistry that is necessary to study life. Branches of biology
• Geology : geology: characteristics of the soil, height of the mountains, dynamics of sedimentation and transport as occurs in the dunes… are some of the aspects where geology is an essential branch for biology.
• Meteorology and climatology : temperature and precipitation are two of the most important limiting factors for the development of living beings and ecosystems, meteorology deals with the specific evolution of weather while climatology studies the distribution of these patterns and helps configure the characteristics of the main biomes and species.

Other branches of biology

There are numerous branches of biology that in turn can be divided into other highly specialized branches in very specific groups or aspects. Branches of biology

1. Aerobiology Branches of biology

Within the branches of biology, one of them is aerobiology. It deals with studying the distribution and levels of pollen and fungi for the study and prevention of allergies but also other small particles and microorganisms such as bacteria and tiny insects. It is also in charge of studying how diseases are transmitted through the air since many viruses, bacteria and fungi do so.

2. Anatomy Branches of biology

Anatomy is responsible for studying how living beings and their organs are internally structured: the composition, location and how they relate to each other is also the object of its study. Comparative anatomy is that part that compares similar organs of different animals to study their evolutionary origin if they are analogous or homologous organs .

Within the branches of zoology, which is one of the branches of biological sciences par excellence, it is in charge of the study of arachnids: their description, biology, ecology…

4. Astrobiology Branches of biology

It is the branch of biology that, together with astronomy, studies whether there is life outside planet Earth, and the origin, evolution and distribution of possible extraterrestrial life. It is currently focused on detecting those planets that can potentially harbor life or have had it in the past.

5. Bacteriology Branches of biology

It is the branch of biology that is specialized in the study of prokaryotes: their morphology, ecology, distribution, ethology, biochemistry and genetics. Although the word speaks of bacteria, it also deals with the study of archaea.

6. Biophysics Branches of biology

It is the branch of biology that studies the physical processes that underlie biological processes, that is, it studies the biology of living beings and the cell with physical criteria. As a result of this, processes such as the nerve impulse are well understood and it represents a great advance for other sciences such as neuroscience.

7. Biogeography

It is the science that studies the distribution of living beings on earth, and how the current distribution has been reached and how it is being modified. Currently it is very important due to the changes that are beginning to be observed due to global warming. It is as much a branch of biology as it is of geography and requires other branches such as botany, zoology, evolutionary biology, also ecology and other sciences such as geology.

8. Bioinformatics Branches of biology

It is the branch of biology that is dedicated to the management and analysis of biological data using computational tools. It can also be called as computational biology or biological informatics. It is currently very useful for protein structure prediction, evolution modeling or estimations related to protein-protein interactions or on the genome.

9. Environmental Biology

Among the branches of biology, this is the one that studies the interaction of living beings with the environment and the human being. It studies the relationship of biological systems with the natural environment in such a way that its knowledge allows minimizing the impact of human activities on the natural environment.

10. Structural Biology Branches of biology

It is a branch of molecular biology that studies the structure of macromolecules such as proteins, nucleic acids… For example, the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA is associated with structural biology, and is one of the most important branches for research in the development of treatments for diseases such as cancer, HIV,… because the structure of proteins is what determines whether drugs are effective or not.

11. Evolutionary Biology

It studies the biological changes of living beings and the common ancestor or descendant of living beings, one of the branches of biology that offers the most unknowns.

It is a highly interdisciplinary branch of biology that studies human populations based on genetic variability, their biotopes, diseases… in short, it tries to understand how human life develops beyond molecular biology. It also interacts with other sciences such as nutrition, medicine and biological anthropology.

13. Reproductive Biology

It is the branch of biology that studies aspects related to human reproduction but also the sexual and asexual reproduction of plants and animals. When talking about fertility studies, in vitro fertilization, or advances in assisted reproduction, it is the subject of reproductive biology.

14. Systems Biology Branches of biology

It is the branch of biology that is dedicated to representing as mathematical models the relationships and interactions that exist in nature or in biological systems with the aim of understanding these processes. It is closely related to bioinformatics.

15. Biomechanics

It is the science that studies mechanical structures (bones, muscles, blood circulation…) based on physical criteria. It is also part of biophysics.

16. Bionics Branches of biology

Bionics is based on solving problems in architecture, engineering, technology… by using biological solutions that living beings have adapted to solve the same problems. It is currently applied to the design of prostheses, to sensory improvements, but also to other types of aspects such as urban planning.

17. Biochemistry

Biochemistry studies the composition and chemical reactions that occur in living things. Rather than being considered within the branches of biology, it is considered encompassed within chemistry, although it would be difficult to determine the results without in-depth knowledge of biological systems.

18. Biotechnology Branches of biology

It is a branch of biology that is fundamentally based on biology and microbiology, although it also uses applications from other branches such as biochemistry or genetics. It uses organisms as technology and with technology for industrial uses such as medical processes, agricultural biotechnology (obtaining transgenics and genetically modified organisms -GMOs), industrial biotechnology.

19. Carcinology Branches of biology

Carcinology is another of the branches of biology that studies crustaceans, this branch of biology can also be called malacostracology. It should not be confused with the study of cancer.

20. Cladistics

It is the branch of biology that classifies living things based on their evolutionary relationships based on their derived similarities. In this way, the evolutionary tree of living beings can be assembled based on common characters.

21. Chorology Branches of biology

It is the branch of biogeography that studies the distribution of living beings based on choriotypes. Chorotypes are general distribution areas such as, for example, the Mediterranean basin, the Palearctic region, etc.

22. Entomology

It is the branch of biology that deals with the study of insects. The study of insects is of great interest due to the economic impact that insects can have on the goods of human beings, agriculture and the production of other goods such as honey.

23. Epidemiology Branches of biology

This branch can be exercised by biologists but also by doctors, considering it mainly a branch of medicine.

24. Equinology

It is the branch of biology that studies echinoderms, which include sea urchins, crinoids and starfish.

25. Embryology

Embryology is the branch of biology that is responsible for studying morphogenesis, embryonic development from fertilization to the birth of living beings.

26. Ethnobiology Branches of biology

It is the branch of science that studies how natural resources have been and are used by different human cultures. The study of plants for food, medicinal, or ritual purposes is an example of the study of ethnobiology.

27. Ethology Branches of biology

Ethology is the branch of biology and psychology that studies the behavior of animals in different conditions, whether in freedom, in their natural environment, in the laboratory, in captive conditions…

28. Phenology

It is the science derived from biology that studies the biological cycles of living beings in relation to climate, seasons and weather. For example, thanks to phenology we can know what time of year bird migrations take place and whether they are moving ahead or behind. It is becoming increasingly important to understand the effects of climate change.

29. Phycology Branches of biology

Phycology is the branch of biology that studies algae whether they are marine or freshwater algae.

30. Phylogeny or phylogenetics

It is the science that deals with the evolutionary history of organisms. Specifically, it is the branch of evolutionary biology that studies phylogenesis, which is the process by which species appear from a stem species by evolutionary bifurcations.

31. Phytopathology Branches of biology

Phytopathology is the branch of biology, more particularly botany, that studies plant diseases whether they are caused by viruses, fungi or insects. It also deals with diseases caused by nutritional imbalances of organisms.

32. Genomics Branches of biology

Genomics aims at the collective characterization and quantification of genes, which direct the production of proteins with the help of enzymes and messenger molecules. As we have seen before, genetics deals with the study of individual genes and their role in inheritance, which is why it differs from genomics.

33. Herpetology

It is the branch of biology, specifically zoology, that studies reptiles and amphibians.

34. Histology

It is the branch of biology that studies the tissues that make up living beings, and which in turn are made up of cells specialized in that type of tissue, for this reason, it is closely related to anatomy, in particular with the microscopic part of This studio.

35. Ichthyology

Within the branches of biological science, this is a specialization of zoology, which, as we have seen, is a branch of biology, which studies fish ,  both bony fish (teleosts) and chondrichthyans (cartilage fish where bones are found). sharks, rays and chimaeras), and agnathous fish (without jaws such as lampreys and hagfish).

36. Immunology Branches of biology

It is the branch of biology that studies the immune system: how the immune response is produced, the tissues, cells and organs that intervene in the defense of the animal body against foreign elements.

37. Limnology

It is the science that studies the processes in lake environments, closely related to biology but also to geology. One of the great Spanish ecologists, Ramón Margalef, extensively studied the limnology of different lakes as the basis for his ecological theories.

38. Metabolomics

Metabolomics is the science that carries out the systematic study of the unique traces that specific cellular processes leave behind, that is, the study of the profile of the metabolites  (small molecules) of a biological sample.

39. Mycology

Among the branches of biology and botany, mycology is the science that deals with the study of fungi. This science is of great importance due to the great relationship that fungi have with human beings and its consequences on health and economic criteria.

40. Morphology

Among the branches of biology, this is the one that deals with the study of the structure and form of living beings and their implications in relation to the environment and other species.

41. Neurobiology

Neurobiology is the branch of biology that studies the cells of the nervous system and how they relate to each other.

42. Oncology

Oncology is the science that studies everything related to the biology of cancer, how it occurs and the development of treatments for it.

43. Ontogeny

Ontogeny is the science that studies the origin and generation of living beings from fertilization to senescence (old age).

44. Organography or plant anatomy

Organography is the science that studies the tissues and cell structure of plants.

45. Ornithology

It is the science and branch of zoology that studies birds. Ornithology has numerous fans due to the ease of seeing birds and their showiness. Birds were key in the development of Darwin’s theory of evolution since they allow studies to be carried out in a more or less simple way on speciation and evolution, biogeography, etc.

46. ​​Paleobotany

It is the science that deals with the connection between past and current forms and the interpretation of plant fossils.

47. Paleontology

Paleontology is the discipline that is both a branch of biology and geology, dedicated to the study of fossil life, is responsible for identifying and classifying species, studying their biology and evolutionary history. It is a science that has many followers and fans.

48. Palynology

Palynology is, among the branches of biology, the one that deals with the study of pollen and spores. Branches of biology

49. Parasitology

It is the science and branch of biology that studies parasites and parasitism. It has many applications, including those related to medicine and human health. Branches of biology

50. Pathology

It is the science that studies diseases and pathogenic agents, derived from medicine, biologists can also dedicate themselves to this study.

51. Biological psychiatry

It is a branch of medicine that studies mental disorders from the point of view of their biological function within the nervous system.

52. Synecology

Synecology is the branch of biology that studies the relationships between communities and between ecosystems .

53. Sociobiology

It is the science that studies the biological basis of social relationships between animals. Branches of biology

54. Taxonomy

Taxonomy is the branch of biology that deals with the systematic classification of living things into taxa. Branches of biology

55. Theriology or mammalogy

Mammalogy is the branch of biology (particularly zoology) that deals with the specific study of mammalian animals.

56. Toxicology

It is the auxiliary science that studies toxins, although its foundations come from chemistry, how toxins behave in the body and what effects they have, it has a lot to do with the knowledge of the biology of the organisms that suffer said toxin. It is not found within the branches of biology themselves, but it is important for global knowledge. Forensic, environmental taxonomy and ecotoxicology belong to this science.

57. Transcriptomics

It is the science that deals with the study of all the RNA that exists in a cell, tissue or organ.

58. Virology

It is the science and branch of microbiology (which in turn is a branch of biology) that studies viruses and particles that resemble them (such as prions), in all their aspects: infection cycle, necessary hosts, internal culture. vitro and in vivo,…