April Smith, Ph.D./Executive Director August 7, 2024

If you’re reading this blog post on Biology, congrats! You’ve made it to one of our posts on “What is… Science?” These posts tell all about different fields of science and many people will encounter these on our interactive banners at NC Science Trail events.

If you’re at an event right now, thank you for learning more about biology, and the answer to the banner question is at the bottom of this post. If you’re at home, settle in for a quick overview of one of the major branches of science that people often study.

So, what is Biology? That’s a very good place to start. 

Biology is the study of life. There’s a lot packed into that little sentence and you probably don’t even realize it yet, so let me lay this out in a slightly more interesting manner:

The above comic represents a cell, and all living things are made of cells. In fact, a cell is the structural component for all life on earth.
 
And cells run everything.
 
There are many different types of cells: Eukaryotic vs Prokaryotic (like bacteria!). Plant vs Animal. In animals, there are skin cells, blood cells, nerve cells, muscle cells, fat cells, and more!  … so many different cells – different structures, different functions, but ultimately all of these cells are making up every level of life on earth.
 
And the truly important part of knowing about Biology, is that it focuses on life. So, when scientists study biology, they have to decide whether they are interested in studying life at the cellular level, at the organismal level, at the population level (which would only look at a single species), at the community level (where there are many species living together), at the ecosystem level, landscape level, biosphere level, global level…oh my. 
 
Biologists work from very, very tiny scales using incredibly fined tuned microscopes to very, very large scales such as looking at how life is being affected by a certain factor, perhaps a virus like COVID-19, on a giant global scale.
 
Perhaps we should just agree that biology is a very large and very diverse field. But that’s a wonderful thing, because it gives you tons of options for deciding what you’re most interested in.

Click here to see all of our Science Trail Partners who share the science of biology everyday.

*The answer to the Biology Banner question, “What is the difference between plant cells and animals cells” is more than a short response! Plant and animal cells are both eukaryotic cells, but there are a number of differences including:

  • Plant and animal cells have a cell membrane, but only plant cells have a thick cell wall made of cellulose.
  • Plant cells have chloroplasts that allow them to photosynthesize and make their own food in the sun.
  • Plant cells tend to be more rectangular in shape and can be much larger than animal cells. Animal cells are typical round or more irregular in shape

*And if you’d like to have one of our special Biology Stickers with the logo above, come to our table at our next event and sign up for the newsletter.”