learning outcomes:

1. Understand the nature of life and the different theories about its
origin.
2. Identify and explain the different characteristics of living things.
3. Review the scientific methods and its limitations.

BIOLOGY as a SCIENCE
• natural science that deals with the living components of nature.
• the knowledge in biology is said to be universal in concept. Unlike
other bodies of knowledge such as arts and religion, in which the
knowledge is based on appreciation and faith, respectively, the
knowledge in science is based on facts. There should be pieces of
evidence before we can accept this knowledge as facts, and this
evidence should be perceived by our sense organs i.e. seen, heard,
felt, tasted, and/or smelled.
Aside from natural sciences, there are two other fields of science:
a. social sciences are those dealing with activities and relationships
within the society (Sociology, Politics, Economics, etc.).
b. abstract sciences are those dealing with inanimate objects and
concepts (Mathematics, Psychology, Metaphysics, etc.). But we have
to remember, that there are no boundaries between and among the
different types of knowledge. There is always overlapping of ideas
and information necessary to understand fully the whole scenario. It
is impossible to study exclusively one body of knowledge alone.
• The science of biology includes the entire field of living organisms,
ranging from the tiniest speck of microscopic life floating in the air to
the massive whale or the giant Sequoia tree, which is the largest and
most enduring of all living things. Literally, biology comes from two
Greek words, bios (life) and logos (to study).
• Scientifically, it deals with the investigation of the origin, history,
structure, function, identification, classification, distribution,
development, inheritance, and significance of living things as well as
their relationships and interactions with the environment.
• The other part of natural science dealing with the non-living
components of nature is physical science. Physical sciences are
those concerned with forces, motion and energy (Physics),
 composition and changes of matter (Chemistry), structure of the earth
(Geology), and different celestial bodies (Astronomy).

SCIENTIFIC METHOD and its

LIMITATIONS
As a science, biology also uses the scientific method in solving or
investigating a biological problem.
• The scientific method is the logical process of learning facts through
observation and experimentation from which, certain conclusions or
theories are drawn. Observation is said to be the most basic skill of a
scientist.
The steps of the scientific method could be summarized as follows:
1. Identification of the problem. Any scientific process starts with
observation using all the senses and from these observations, a
problem may be identified.
2. Formulation of hypotheses. A set of assumptions or possible
explanations to the problem should be formulated. These hypotheses
are preliminary conclusions or intelligent assumptions about the
problem that are merely based on observation.
3. Experimentation or testing of hypotheses. The experiment is a valid
procedure used to test the hypotheses. In an experiment, there must
be two sets of set-up: the control set-up and the experimental setup.
The experimental set-up is similar to the control set-up in every
aspect except the presence of the variable. Variable is the factor or
parameter to be tested.
4. Analysis and interpretation of data and results. Data or results
must be gathered during and after experimentation. Data include
records collected while making observations during an experiment.
One way to analyze or interpret records of observation is by using
tables and graphs.
5. Generalization or formulation of conclusion. Based on the analyzed
data, a theory may be formulated supported by the experimental
evidence. This theory is the conclusion derived from actual
experiences or experiments formed to explain certain phenomena
and the relationships between them.
Theories may be developed into a scientific law or into a scientific
principle. A scientific law is a statement of what occurs in nature as found
by observation and a series of experiments to be true. The scientific
principle is a law of nature on which other laws are based; it is established
with certainty by inference from adequate factual information.

These steps should be followed in a logical order, one step after the other,
in order to come up with valid solutions to the problem. However, there
are still some areas in which science cannot investigate and provide any
explanation. These areas are the limitations of the scientific
method. These limitations present questions that do not have testable
answers. Since testability is so vital to the scientific process, these
questions simply fall outside the venue of science.

1. Science cannot help us with questions about God and the

supernatural. scientists can only explain a phenomenon based from
natural laws of the universe. Supernatural questions are outside the
process of scientific method.
2. Science cannot answer questions about appreciation and value. For
example, there is no scientific answer to the questions. “Who among
the candidates is the most beautiful?” or “Which is more valuable,
one gram of gold or one gram of steel?” Our culture places value on
the element of gold, but is what you need is something to build as
foundation of a roof, gold, a very soft metal, is useless. There is no
way to scientifically determine appreciation and value.
3. Science cannot answer questions of morality. The problem of
deciding good and bad, right and wrong, is outside the scope of
science. This is why expert scientific witnesses can never help us solve
the dispute over abortion: all a scientist can tell you is what is going as
a fetus develops; the question of whether it is right or wrong to
terminate those events is determined by cultural and social rules.
 DEVELOPMENT of BIOLOGY as a
SCIENCE
From the time of Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543), a German
Renaissance astronomer up to Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727), an
English physicist, mathematician, and astronomer, the focus of the
scientific community was more on physical sciences. Little attention
was given to some important biological discoveries and inventions,
from the time of Aristotle (considered as the Father of Biology) to the
time of Andreas Vesalius (1543), a Belgian anatomist on human
anatomy; William Harvey (1628), an English physician on blood
circulation; Marcello Malpighi (1661), an Italian biologist on blood
capillaries; Robert Hooke (1665), an English naturalist on the discovery
of the cell; Anton Van Leeuwenhoek (1674), a Dutch microbiologist
and inventor on microscopy; Theodor Schwann (1838), a German
physiologist; Matthias Jakob Schleiden (1839), a German botanist,
and Rudolf Virchow (1858), a German pathologist on the cell theory.

The attention was turned to biological sciences only when Charles

Darwin, an English naturalist, published “The Origin of Species” in
1859. This is marked as the birth of the modern era of biology. This
was followed by the rejection of spontaneous generation theory by
Louis Pasteur, a French chemist and microbiologist in 1865, and so
many other important discoveries and inventions on physiology and
molecular biology, e.g. Gregor Mendel (1866), an Augustinian monk
on genetics, Max Knoll, a German engineer and Ernst Ruska, a German
physicist on electron microscope (1935), and James Watson, an
American molecular biologist and Francis Crick, a British molecular
biologist on the double helix structure of the DNA (1953).
 Unifying Theories in BIOLOGY

branches of biology
There are many branches of biology, each focused on just one aspect
of research. First, biology is split into three main branches that focus
on three different groups of organisms: zoology (animals), botany
(plants), and microbiology (microorganisms). More information on
each branch as well as numerous sub-branches are listed below,
grouped according to focus or area of study.
According to method or aspect of study:
• Anatomy • Oceanography
• Biogeography • Ontogeny
• Cytology • Organology
• Ecology • Paleontology
• Embryology • Pathology
• Evolution • Pathology
• Genetics • Phylogeny
• Histology • Physiology
• Limnology • Systematics
• Morphology • Classification
• Nomenclature
 According to type of organisms
• Bacteriology • Ornithology
• Botany • Parasitology
• Carcinology • Phycology – algae
• Helminthology • Protozoology
• Herpetology • Virology
• Ichthyology • Zoology
• Malacology • Cnidarology
• Mammalogy • Bryology
• Microbiology • Conchology
• Mycology

historical biology
1. Evolution - origin of species
2. Paleontology - fossils/evidences of the past
3. Phylogeny - ancestral history of organism

distributional and environmental biology

1. Ecology - interactions and relationships within an ecosystem
2. Biogeography - distribution of living things
3. Biodiversity – variety of living things
4. Forestry - wildlife and forest management
5. Limnology - fresh water habitats
6. Oceanography - marine water habitats

structural and functional biology

1. Biochemistry – 5. Anatomy - dissection
composition of living of body parts
things 6. Morphology - gross
2. Cytology – cells structure
3. Histology – tissues 7. Physiology - functions
4. Organology – organs

developmental biology
1. Embryology - development of the embryo
2. Genetics – heredity
3. Ontogeny - developmental history of an individual
medical biology
1. Medicine – diagnosis, treatment and prevention of diseases
2. Bioethics –moral values, rights and duties in medicine
3. Pathology – diseases
4. Parasitology – parasites
5. Dermatology – skin diseases
6. Oncology – cancer
7. Urology – disorders of urinary and male reproductive organs
8. Gynecology – disorders of female reproductive organs
9. Surgery – treatment of diseases, deformities, and injuries through
operations
10. Anesthesiology – use of anesthetic substance
11. Psychiatry – mental disorders
12. Pediatrics – diseases of children
13. Geriatrics – diseases of senior citizens

systematic biology
1. Systematics – 9. Bryology – mosses
classification and 10. Helminthology –
phylogeny worms
2. Taxonomy – 11. Carcinology –
classification crustaceans
3. Nomenclature - 12. Conchology – shells
naming/assigning of 13. Malacology – mollusks
scientific name 14. Entomology – insects
4. Bacteriology – bacteria 15. Ichthyology – fishes
5. Virology – viruses 16. Herpetology - reptiles
6. Protozoology – and amphibians
protozoans 17. Ornithology – birds
7. Phycology – algae 18. Mammalogy –
8. Mycology – fungi mammals
 Theory on the Origin of Life
Before the
Earth became
abundant in
resources and
home to
humans, its
majestic
beauty was built
upon series of
destruction and
reformation.
Following the
Big Bang Theory, and the expansion of cosmic bodies (Figure 1), the
universe is approximately 13 billion years old. When gravity pulled the
rotating and orbiting dust and gases1, Earth started to form and take
its primordial or beginning state. Life seemed to appear billion years
after when Earth started to stabilize. The earliest pieces of evidence
or records of life were proven to be approximately 3.5 billion years
old.
Characteristics of Living Things
o Assimilation
o Define form and size
o Definite chemical composition
o Movement/locomotion
o Respiration
o Excretion
o Homeostasis
key takeaways:

o There are several theories on the origin of life. The most accepted
of which and considered to be the most scientific is the Oparin-
Haldane Hypothesis and Miller-Urey Experiment.
o To define life is to enumerate the common properties of living
organisms.
o Living systems are characterized by the processes of metabolism,
growth, irritability, reproduction, adaptation, and organization.
o Biology is a science that attempts to describe and understand
both the unity and diversity of life on earth.
o As a science, biology also uses the scientific method in solving or
investigating a biological problem.
o Among the pioneers of biological studies were Aristotle, Vesalius,
Harvey, Hooke, and Leeuwenhoek.
o The publication of Darwin's The Origin of Species gave birth to the
modem era of biology.