1.2: Fields in the Life Sciences

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What kind of scientist studies dolphins?

Dolphins are living organisms, so studying them is part of the life sciences. The life sciences, however, are broken down into many fields. Scientists that study dolphins and other life in the ocean are called marine biologists.

Fields in the Life Sciences

The life sciences are the study of living organisms. They deal with every aspect of living organisms, from the biology of cells, to the biology of individual organisms, to how these organisms interact with other organisms and their environment.

The life sciences are so complex that most scientists focus on just one or two subspecialties. If you want to study insects, what would you be called? An entomologist. If you want to study the tiny things that give us the flu, then you need to enter the field of virology, the study of viruses. If you want to study the nervous system, which life science field is right for you (Table below, Table below, and Table below)?

Field	Focus
Botany	Plants
Zoology	Animals
Marine biology	Organisms living in oceans
Freshwater biology	Organisms living in and around freshwater lakes, streams, rivers, ponds, etc.
Microbiology	Microorganisms
Bacteriology	Bacteria
Virology	Viruses
Entomology	Insects
Taxonomy	The classification of organisms

Field	Focus
Cell biology	Cells and their structures/functions
Anatomy	Structures of animals
Morphology	Form and structure of living organisms
Physiology	Physical and chemical functions of tissues and organs
Immunology	Mechanisms inside organisms that protect them from disease and infection
Neuroscience	The nervous system
Developmental biology and embryology	Growth and development of plants and animals
Genetics	Genetic makeup of living organisms and heredity
Biochemistry	Chemistry of living organisms
Molecular biology	Nucleic acids and proteins
Epidemiology	How diseases arise and spread
Evolution	The changing of species over time

Field	Focus
Ecology	How various organisms interact with their environments
Biogeography	Distribution of living organisms
Population biology	The biodiversity, evolution, and environmental biology of populations of organisms

During the study of the life sciences, you will study cell biology, genetics, molecular biology, botany, microbiology, zoology, evolution, ecology, and physiology. Cell biology is the study of cellular structure and function (Figure below). Genetics is the study of heredity, which is the passing of traits (and genes) from one generation to the next. Molecular biology is the study of molecules, such as DNA and proteins. Ecologists study ecosystems, which are made of both living and nonliving parts of the environment. A botanist may work in a botanical garden, where plant life can be studied. What will you study with the other subspecialties?

Summary

There are several subspecialties within the life sciences that focus on one type of organism, such as virology and bacteriology.
There are several fields of the life sciences that examine interactions between organisms and their environments, such as ecology.