Sunday, March 31, 2013


Life of a Commercial Pilot

Landing a job as a commercial pilot seems like hitting the jackpot, but what's the truth behind this seemingly glamorous life?
The pilot's life
From the flight deck
Landing a job as a commercial pilot seems like hitting the jackpot, but what’s the truth behind this seemingly glamorous life?
Do you remember when Charlie, the little boy in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, found the last golden ticket? That ticket gave him the chance to inherit a great fortune and the opportunities that came with it.
For me, the golden ticket looks a lot like what an airline pilot’s job used to represent. In the past, being hired at a major airline was like winning the lottery. Not the kind where you get a lump sum, but the kind that pays out over time, affording the winner a close-to-upper-class lifestyle.
The hiring process for the big airlines used to be much more demanding. First, you had to meet the minimum qualifications of flight time; and, if you wanted to be competitive, you had to earn a college degree. Flight time may be acquired through military commitment, or through flight instruction and corporate, charter or commuter flying in the civilian world. Either way, it’s not easy and requires an incredible amount of time, money and dedication.
Historically, it took an average of about 10 years of building flight time and qualifications to meet the minimum requirements to submit an application—but due to a shortage of qualified applicants, today’s requirements are significantly less stringent.
The airline industry is unique in that each pilot is given a seniority number on his date of hire, when he is at the bottom of the list of pilots. The only ways to move up that list are if the airline expands and adds pilots, or if pilots retire off the top. Once a year, the list is adjusted for retirements, deaths, firings or loss of a medical certificate. For airline pilots, seniority is everything. The type of aircraft you fly, your monthly schedule and your vacations all depend on your ranking. The more senior you are, the better your life—and lifestyle—will be.
We’ve all heard the phrase “timing is everything,” and airline hiring is no exception. Even being granted an interview used to depend on the state of the economy and what phase of the business cycle the industry was in. During my hiring process, there were three distinct phases, each of which necessitated a separate trip to the company’s flight training center. These interviews were loaded with tests, including mathematical and spatial reasoning, aircraft systems, the flight simulator and (probably the most dreaded) the aviation physical.
You could be bumped for any slight malady or for a problem in your extended family’s medical history. The airlines didn’t want to invest a fortune in training costs in someone who wouldn’t be healthy during his career, so they required pilots to pass a physical every six months (for international long-haul pilots), or a minimum of once per year. Then, every nine months, pilots also had to pass a rigorous two-to-three-day academic and flight-simulator evaluation that tested their flying skills and knowledge of aircraft systems in the most demanding scenarios.
After running the hiring gauntlet successfully—if you were fortunate enough to earn a golden ticket—then you were on the fast track to the good life. It may not have seemed like it during the first few years on the job, though, because of probationary salaries. During their first year at an airline, pilots are on probation and can be let go for any number of reasons, and they earn significantly less. But later down the line, a generous salary, convenient flying schedules, time off for vacations, full health coverage and an enviable retirement package awaited career airline pilots.
Unfortunately, this dream job has turned into somewhat of a nightmare. The lofty promises of the past are long gone, replaced with the realities of unbridled competition, inept management, poor business decisions and stubborn unions. Contracts and pay rates are often diminished or negated by bankruptcies, while inflation marches on. Pilots work longer hours for much less pay. Vacations have been reduced, health benefits slashed and handsome pensions completely eliminated.
Regrettably, these are the stark realities of the profession. Unlike a corporate executive, who can leave a company and go to another with improved benefits and a higher salary, an airline pilot is stuck with his ranking number at the company where he began his career—unless he wants to start all over again at the bottom somewhere new. In the end, the golden ticket turns out to be a fairy tale.




What Is Aviation Science?

Aviation Science refers to the large field surrounding aircraft operations and support systems. In addition to flight operations, it includes aircraft maintenance, air traffic control, airport and airline management. Read this article to learn more about Aviation Science. Schools offering Aeronautics degrees can also be found in these popular choices.

Aviation Science

The aerospace and aviation industry includes a wide range or careers requiring a variety of skill sets. Aviation Science is the study of the basic components required for a career in this industry. Aviation Science includes all the support systems that keep airlines running in a safe, efficient and orderly fashion, including air traffic control, airport operations, airline management, maintenance and piloting an aircraft.

Degrees in Aviation Science

There are various degrees available in Aviation Science, ranging from associate's degrees to bachelor, master and even doctorate degrees. Most students will choose a program or a concentration that focuses on a specific area, such as aircraft maintenance or commercial piloting. Associate's degree programs in Aviation Science prepare students for entry-level positions or further study in the industry within two years.
Bachelor degree programs provide a wider focus, typically including liberals arts and management courses.
Some bachelor degree programs lead to a commercial pilot's license. Graduate Aviation Science programs explore advanced topics in depth, such as research and development of aerospace equipment. They combine business administration skills with aviation industry knowledge for upper-level management positions.

Aviation Science Topics

A program in Aviation Science will cover a wide range of topics relevant to the Aviation industry. Topics may include aircraft design, instrumentation and aviation communications systems. Aviation Science programs also discuss Federal Aviation Administration regulations, environmental concerns, human resource management and airline procedures. Airport or airline operations are also covered.

Careers in Aviation Science

From entry-level positions at a regional airline to managing the operations of an entire airport, there are numerous positions in the Aviation industry requiring knowledge of Aviation Science. Aviation Science careers includes those as maintenance managers, aircraft technicians, pilots and flight instructors. Graduates with an Aviation Science degree can also work as air traffic controllers, safety inspectors or airline managers.



New Aircraft Technologies
New aircraft technologies


**Many of the ideas collected in this survey concern the design of the aircraft, or have implications for its design.
Rather than present them as a simple list of disparate ideas they have been collected together under eight headings.
These range from new ideas for flight mechanics (under Global Flight Concepts) to the induction of sleep to give passengers a sensation-less flight (under Passenger Experience). Several of the concepts examined in other principal sections have implications for the design of the aircraft – whether in the Cruiser/Feeder concept or the Airport of the Future. In general where individual subjects have been treated at length in other sections they are not repeated here.
We have become accustomed to the "standard" airliner of the early 21st Century. It has a familiar form and most of them have the family characteristics of large twin engines, a cylindrical fuselage, a lower freight bay and upper passenger compartment, swept back wings and a tricycle undercarriage. Some argue that this form is the conclusion of evolution and that it simple demonstrates the limiting form of the idea. Others take the view that any form is only the product of the circumstances that produced it and if these change the evolutionary form will change and can be changed. The ideas presented here follow this path.
Prompted by the pressures for environmental sensitivity some ideas focus on ways to make dramatic, or at least important, savings in the amount of fuel used by the world’s airliners. Previously dismissed contributions to economy of fossil fuel lie behind the thinking of several concepts.
1. The glider-like airliner
Gliders have very high aspect ratio wings. These low drag wings allow them to sustain altitude in the lightest of upward thermals (about 1 fpm) and thereby to carry out long distance flight on no fuel at all. Their glide ratio is extremely shallow – in the order of 1 in 55 compared with a typical airliner of 1 in 15 (B747). Powered gliders are somewhere between a conventional a/c and a glider. Their small engines can be used to gain or to sustain altitude and the consumption of fuel is still only small.
The concept is for airliners with some of the characteristics of a powered glider. It would have high aspect ratio wings and be fitted with substantial engines for climb out but much less powerful than those in current use. Its cruising speed would inevitably be much lower – perhaps in the M0.4 range.Take-off speeds would be lower and runway lengths much reduced. The normal mode of operation would be using the engines but cruising
power demands would be very much lower. A glide ratio of perhaps 1 in 27 would produce a hybrid having many of the advantages of the glider whilst retaining most of the flexibility of the modern airliner.
The benefits are mainly in the consumption of fossil fuel. A 200 seat airliner on a 1000 nm leg will use something like 10 tonnes of fuel. A glider-like a/c of the same capacity would use perhaps an eighth or a quarter of this amount.
The lower speed of the aircraft brings some disadvantages: the aircraft is less able to earn revenue and it offers slower and thereby less attractive journey times. Against this it will be a cheaper product to make and for medium legs the extra journey time will not be hugely significant (the change from say M0.83 to M0.4 would add about 30% to total door-to-door journey times on a 1000 nm leg).
2. Wing in ground effect craft
9.jpg
These WIGE craft have been produced for many years – notably by the former Soviet Union. They give the promise of considerable savings in fuel through operating near to the surface (within about half a span) and gaining from the ground effect of the airflow over the craft.
Large and small craft have been shown to be feasible. A body of design knowledge exists for their design and construction. In the era when most WIGE were subject to experimentation within the FSU the considerations of fuel saving were of a different kind to today. It may now be the time to re-examine such WIGE craft and to adapt them for commercial operation.
The potential benefits lay in their fuel efficiency. For a 200-seat craft over a 1000nm leg the fuel saved might amount to 50-60% or 5 or 6 tonnes.
The disadvantages of these craft are that speeds are generally in the range 150-250 knots and the routes for their operation must be suitable for very low flying craft – i.e. either sea-lanes or barren land. Technically the craft work satisfactorily when properly designed although a natural disposition to pitch instability needs to be carefully considered. (WIGE are also covered in section 3.2.3.)
3. High speed blimps
The technology of lighter-than-air craft has progressed substantially since the heyday of the great German Airships of the 1920’s. At the most obvious level it is no longer necessary to use hydrogen as the lift gas with its attendant dangers. In recent times, several companies have come up with concepts for airships for special purposes including heavy lift operations. The idea put forward here is for an examination of a high-speed airship which might overcome the disadvantages of the relatively slow speed (around 100 knots) of conventional craft.
The essence of a pure airship is that the lift and thrust components of flight are provided for quite separately. Lift is from a large gas enclosure and this lift is almost independent of speed. Thrust is provided by a number of engines which do not provide any component of lift.With modern designs these conventional approaches have been questioned. The very modern Zeppelin NT has rotating engines that can contribute to lift as well as forward speed. Nevertheless the speed is 125 Km/hr in level flight. The Ohio Airships Dynalifter“ is a hybrid style of craft with wings that contribute to lift and control as speed is achieved. A substantial fraction of the weight is lifted by the wings and this is claimed to be a benefit in landing since the craft will sit securely on the landing ground once at rest. Speeds of 100-200 knots are forecast for this type of craft. The Cargolifter heavy lift airship was one of the concepts designed by the company carrying up to 160 tonnes at speeds up to 90 km/hr.
Cargolifter suffered insolvency in 2002 and the present fate of the project is uncertain.
It is certain that new technologies make the construction and use of airships more practical.With hybrid technologies, some of the handicaps of the format may be overcome. Looking for very high speeds will continue to be a compromise between lift, size and construction since an envelope of minimum cross-section would be too long to be practical. Similarly, an envelope of compact length would represent a considerable cross sectional drag.
4. Flying boats
The days of the great flying boats seem to be well past. The unexplored potential of the Spruce Goose, the might of the PanAm Yankee Clippers, the sturdy service of PBY’s and Sunderlands all seem to be from the history books.
However, as we look at the new challenges of the future there are reasons to think that the second age of the flying boat may be coming about.We hear, for example, about congestion at hub airports, and we know the opposition that is raised to any airport extension.We know also that these reactions are set to get worse and not better.
New technologies could be applied to new designs of flying boat and might include better resistance to corrosion, more controlled approach and landing, and more convenient entry and exit arrangements when compared to their forebears. Very large aircraft could be considered given the space and water surface for landing.
5. Flying lower and slower
A high cruising speed has always been a design parameter in airliner design. High speeds mean high productivity and thus low operating cost.Turbofan engines are optimised to operate at high altitude and aircraft are optimised to fly at speeds up to Mach 0.89 for large and about Mach 0.80 for regional aircraft.
Initial studies in the past have indicated that a regional jet seating 100 people and powered by a turbofan engine, flying at Mach 0.77 at 37.000 ft, would need 82.5 minutes to fly a 400nm mission. If the aircraft was powered by a counter-rotating prop-fan engine flying at Mach 0.72 at FL 31.000 ft, the time required would be 83.4 minutes. This represents an increase in time over a 400nm stretch of 1%.Yet fuel consumption would be 35% lower and NOX emissions are estimated to be 50% lower. The effect of flying at lower speeds on long haul flights would of course be more substantial. A trade off between flying slower versus the longer flying time and the consequences for total fuel consumption need to be calculated.
Flying at high altitude creates contrails. It is believed that contrail formations make a significant contribution to global warming. The formation of contrails is depending on the ambient atmospheric conditions. Contrails start to appear when the outside temperature is less than -40 degree Celsius.To avoid contrails, aircraft would need to fly substantially lower especially during wintertime. The temperature conditions can vary significantly between regions and may vary on a daily basis. Consequently, some have suggested adapting preferred flight altitudes in flight plans on a real time basis to minimise contrail formation (note: flying above 40.000 ft also reduces contrails as the humidity level at or above that altitude is low. But flying at such altitudes may have other negative effects due to other emissions).
The current generation of aircraft is not very well suited to fly at lower altitudes like 20.000 ft however. Flying lower would result in longer journey times and hence more fuel burn. On a 6000nm trip this could result for some particular aircraft in a flight time of one to three hours more and up to 30% to 60% more fuel-burn and hence CO2 emissions depending on the flight altitude. Such severe consequences are difficult to accept with current aircraft.
Different fuels will not mitigate the contrail problem, except in the case nuclear energy could be used to power aeroplanes. The alternative would be to design aircraft and engines that would be optimised to fly at lower altitudes.
Trade-offs are needed to demonstrate the optimum, related to the environmental impact of flying high and fast versus low and slow. These studies need to take a full systems view accounting for total carbon emissions, NOx as well as the investment return on the aircraft.
Flying at lower speed or altitude is against the long-established trend in air transport as it results in longer journey times, loss of efficiency and the need to procure more aircraft. On long haul flights, it may even make stopovers necessary again unless mid air refuelling is introduced. But, if the protection of our environment calls for this concept, we should seriously consider changing technological developments in that direction.
6. UAV’s and autonomous flight operations
10.jpg
During the recent years UAV’s (uninhabited aerial vehicles) have become common goods in the military domain. UAV’s in the military are used for dull, dangerous and dumb missions. Two types of UAV vehicles exist: UAV’s controlled by an operator on the ground and UAV’s that fly autonomous missions.
Pilot-less aeroplanes are attractive to civil aviation as well. The cost of the crew is a substantial part of the Direct Operating Cost [DOC] of airliners and the replacement of the crew by automated systems seems to be attractive. However there are serious safety concerns. Even today aircraft can auto-land and fly using the autopilot. However, technology is not fool proof and human intervention is needed from time to time to reset the systems.
One could imagine a future in which planes would be flown in a totally automatic mode. Advanced self-separation and automated station keeping, auto-takeoff and auto-land will be feasible. One could think of a safety pilot who would monitor the onboard systems as an interim phase before accepting fully pilot-less aeroplanes.
Manual override capability would be available to the ground-based operator.
The introduction of this system is related to the reliability of systems, to safety concerns and to security issues. At no time should terrorists be able to intercept the communication with the aircraft and take over their control. Highly secure data links would be needed to ensure these situations cannot occur.
The introduction of pilot-less aircraft in civil aviation could be feasible at first in all cargo UAV’s. There are substantial cargo movements in Europe. In the north/south direction, the cargo has to pass the Alps and the Pyrenees. In the east/west direction surface traffic has to cope with transport infrastructures in the East that are not yet of the same quality as in Western Europe. As rail infrastructure is limited and passenger trains have higher priority than cargo, the average speed of cargo rail is extremely low. Inland shipping is an option but is only slow to re-develop. Therefore, trucking has become the most favoured way to ship goods. However, European highways are already saturated and will be completely blocked in a few years. Unless the personal flying vehicle is introduced quickly, the most desirable option will be to ship goods by air. Aerial freighters could fly standard routes that could easily be handled by UAV’s. The idea of a UAC(argo)V is not new. Its development should take into account the certification related issues.
How to ensure that the vehicle will operate safely? How can we track the aircraft and who would be able to take over manual control. What will be the importance of the interference with other traffic? What about the liability issues?
One possible scenario is to fly these aeroplanes at night and to create special flight corridors for cargo aircraft. These could use direct routes and be monitored and controlled by a single authority. The UACV would fly standard patterns. There would be an automated station keeping and avoidance system installed with autonomous features to fly holding patterns in case of a disruption in traffic.
The next step in flight automation could be the autonomous small flying vehicle. The difference between the cargo liner and the personal vehicle would be that the cargo-liner would fly the same pattern every day whilst the personal aircraft would need to be very flexible.
If the technology proves to be safe and reliable even large passenger aircraft could become pilot-less. Here the key word will be safety perception rather than technology.
7. Vortex control
Vortices have been present behind aircraft since the beginning. As aviation developed the physics of vortex generation has also extended. The importance of vortex management lies in the central factor that determines their strength – the weight of the generating aircraft. So as we move to heavier and heavier aircraft the problem becomes more acute. The forces are considerable. Vortex circular wind speeds of up to 300 ft/sec are generated. The fundamental cause of vortices is well known. They are twin contra-rotating spirals of air that rotate in the underwing to over-wing direction at each wing tip.
Vortices are important to airport efficiency and safety. Where large heavy aircraft are using the airport, the avoidance of vortices can become a limiting factor to airport capacity. This occurs by the application of longer separation distances between heavy leading aircraft and lighter following aircraft. Where inadequate allowance is given to the possibility of vortices affecting following aircraft accidents can happen, with disastrous results given the low altitude of the event. Vortices are at their most serious in just the conditions that apply to landing -heavy, low, and slow.
Vortices also occur in flight but they sink and die away normally within the clearance distances that are usually sustained. They become more important when concepts such as formation flight and linked aircraft are applied. For these reasons, research to understand, to modify and ultimately to control vortex formation has a high priority on both sides of the Atlantic. The introduction of the A380 will raise new issues for resolution as it leads the field in weight. European research programmes like the AWIATOR programme in FP6 has vortex management at its centre.
In the longer term, the control of vortex formation and the ability to modify its behaviour might also bring new opportunities. Arranging the vortices to be favourable to formation aircraft would bring the concept of grouped flying very much into play. Flying onto large structures such as imagined under the Airborne Metro would need this phenomenon to be very well understood.
8. Invisible aircraft
11.jpg
Airports are centres of economic activities. As a consequence airport attract business activities, both directly related to the air station function and businesses that are depending on air freight and easy access to air transport. Consequently, many people want to live near to their working place and thus near to the airport. Cities and airports expand and because of the increasing air traffic, there are complaints from the people living near the airport about aircraft noise, pollution and smell. Experience has shown that when traffic increases even at constant noise levels due to improvements in aircraft technologies, the complaints about nuisance from aircraft noise tend to rise.Noise is therefore not an absolute issue but a question of perception.
One solution to alleviate the problem is to make aircraft invisible and to make them silent. In the military domain work is carried out to create visual stealth. The active camouflage technologies range from using light to illuminate the aircraft, amongst others by using fluorescent panels. Research is also focused on electro optical camouflage using electro-chromic polymer materials. Aircraft could be covered with a coating of LCD’s.
Photosensitive receptors scan the surrounding of the aeroplane and a picture is displayed on the LCD’s. This technology would make the aircraft virtually invisible as it blends with the surrounding.
Anti noise would be used to counter the noise of the aircraft. Already tests are performed to see if anti noise technology can be used to compensate for aircraft noise inside a house. The technology could be expanded to create anti noise in areas located near to the departure and arrival tracks at airports.
Aircraft themselves can be made silent by avoiding airframe noise produced by high lift devices , the undercarriage and aircraft cavities.

Saturday, March 30, 2013

 FREE I-Q TEST

clik on the following link!

Directions: Copy the code below and paste it wherever you'd like the badge to appear on your site.

Instructions for the Intelligence Test

  1. You must work mentally. Do not use pencil or paper during this test.
  2. Be ready to determine whether the statements that follow are true or false. You will have to click either a true or a false button to indicate your response.
  3. If you average more than twenty seconds to respond to each of the questions, your IQ Score will be lower.

    (During the test, you must read and respond to a total of 38 statements in thirteen minutes or less. If you take longer, you will be penalized, or if you get through the test in less time than thirteen minutes, your score will be increased.)

    So, be ready to concentrate and think fast!   

What is an IQ Score?

Originally, IQ, or Intelligence Quotient, was used to detect persons of lower intelligence, and to detect children of lower intelligence in order to place them in special education programs. The first IQ tests were designed to compare a child's intelligence to what his or her intelligence "should be" as compared to the child's age. If the child was significantly "smarter" than a "normal" child of his or her age, the child was given a higher score, and if the child scored lower than expected for a child of his or her age, the child was given a lower IQ score.
Today IQ testing is used not primarily for children, but for adults. Today we attempt to write tests that will determine an adult's true mental potential, unbiased by culture, and compare scores to the scores of other adults who have taken the same test. So today we compare an adult's objective results to the objective results of other adults, and determine how intelligent each test taker is compared to all other test takers, instead of comparing test takers to an arbitrary age related standard.

Standard Deviation:

The first step to understanding IQ testing is to understand standard deviation.
Standard deviation is kind of the "avg of the avg," and often can help you find the story behind the data. To understand this concept, it can help to learn about what statisticians call normal distribution of data.
A normal distribution of data means that most of the examples in a set of data are close to the "average," while relatively few examples tend to one extreme or the other.
Let's say you are writing a story about nutrition. You need to look at people's typical daily calorie consumption. Like most data, the numbers for people's typical consumption probably will turn out to be normally distributed. That is, for most people, their consumption will be close to the mean, while fewer people eat a lot more or a lot less than the mean.
When you think about it, that's just common sense. Not that many people are getting by on a single serving of kelp and rice. Or on eight meals of steak and milkshakes. Most people lie somewhere in between.
If you looked at normally distributed data on a graph, it would look something like this:
The x-axis (the horizontal one) is the value in question... calories consumed, dollars earned or crimes committed, for example. And the y-axis (the vertical one) is the number of datapoints for each value on the x-axis... in other words, the number of people who eat x calories, the number of households that earn x dollars, or the number of cities with x crimes committed.
Now, not all sets of data will have graphs that look this perfect. Some will have relatively flat curves, others will be pretty steep. Sometimes the mean will lean a little bit to one side or the other. But all normally distributed data will have something like this same "bell curve" shape.
The standard deviation is a statistic that tells you how tightly all the various examples are clustered around the mean in a set of data. When the examples are pretty tightly bunched together and the bell-shaped curve is steep, the standard deviation is small. When the examples are spread apart and the bell curve is relatively flat, that tells you you have a relatively large standard deviation.
Computing the value of a standard deviation is complicated. But let me show you graphically what a standard deviation represents...

(Niles Online)
One standard deviation away from the mean in either direction on the horizontal axis (the red area on the above graph) accounts for somewhere around 68 percent of the people in this group. Two standard deviations away from the mean (the red and green areas) account for roughly 95 percent of the people. And three standard deviations (the red, green and blue areas) account for about 99 percent of the people.
If this curve were flatter and more spread out, the standard deviation would have to be larger in order to account for those 68 percent or so of the people. So that's why the standard deviation can tell you how spread out the examples in a set are from the mean.
Why is this useful? Here's an example: If you are comparing test scores for different schools, the standard deviation will tell you how diverse the test scores are for each school.
Let's say Springfield Elementary has a higher mean test score than Shelbyville Elementary. Your first reaction might be to say that the kids at Springfield are smarter.
But a bigger standard deviation for one school tells you that there are relatively more kids at that school scoring toward one extreme or the other. By asking a few follow-up questions you might find that, say, Springfield's mean was skewed up because the school district sends all of the gifted kids to Springfield. Or that Shelbyville's scores were dragged down because students who recently have been "mainstreamed" from special education classes have all been sent to Shelbyville.
In this way, looking at the standard deviation can help point you in the right direction when asking why data is the way it is.
The standard deviation can also help you evaluate the worth of all those so-called "studies" that seem to be released to the press everyday. A large standard deviation in a study that claims to show a relationship between eating Twinkies and killing politicians, for example, might tip you off that the study's claims aren't all that trustworthy.
Here is one formula for computing the standard deviation.
A warning, this is for math geeks only! Writers and others seeking only a basic understanding of stats don't need to read any further. Remember, a decent calculator and stats program will calculate this for you...

Terms you'll need to know
x = one value in your set of data
(x) = the mean (average) of all values x in your set of data
n = the number of values x in your set of data

For each value x, subtract (x) from x, then multiply that value by itself (otherwise known as determining the square of that value). Sum up all those squared values. Then multiply that value by this value... 1/(n-1). Then take the square root of the resulting value. That's the standard deviation of your set of data.

 

Defining Intelligence

Most people have an intuitive notion of what intelligence is, and many words in the English language distinguish between different levels of intellectual skill: bright, dull, smart, stupid, clever, slow, and so on. Yet no universally accepted definition of intelligence exists, and people continue to debate what, exactly, it is. Fundamental questions remain: Is intelligence one general ability or several independent systems of abilities? Is intelligence a property of the brain, a characteristic of behavior, or a set of knowledge and skills?
The simplest definition proposed is that intelligence is whatever intelligence tests measure. But this definition does not characterize the ability well, and it has several problems. First, it is circular: The tests are assumed to verify the existence of intelligence, which in turn is measurable by the tests. Second, many different intelligence tests exist, and they do not all measure the same thing. In fact, the makers of the first intelligence tests did not begin with a precise idea of what they wanted to measure. Finally, the definition says very little about the specific nature of intelligence.
Whenever scientists are asked to define intelligence in terms of what causes it or what it actually is, almost every scientist comes up with a different definition. For example, in 1921 an academic journal asked 14 prominent psychologists and educators to define intelligence. The journal received 14 different definitions, although many experts emphasized the ability to learn from experience and the ability to adapt to one's environment. In 1986 researchers repeated the experiment by asking 25 experts for their definition of intelligence. The researchers received many different definitions: general adaptability to new problems in life; ability to engage in abstract thinking; adjustment to the environment; capacity for knowledge and knowledge possessed; general capacity for independence, originality, and productiveness in thinking; capacity to acquire capacity; apprehension of relevant relationships; ability to judge, to understand, and to reason; deduction of relationships; and innate, general cognitive ability.
People in the general population have somewhat different conceptions of intelligence than do most experts. Laypersons and the popular press tend to emphasize cleverness, common sense, practical problem solving ability, verbal ability, and interest in learning. In addition, many people think social competence is an important component of intelligence.
Most intelligence researchers define intelligence as what is measured by intelligence tests, but some scholars argue that this definition is inadequate and that intelligence is whatever abilities are valued by one's culture. According to this perspective, conceptions of intelligence vary from culture to culture. For example, North Americans often associate verbal and mathematical skills with intelligence, but some seafaring cultures in the islands of the South Pacific view spatial memory and navigational skills as markers of intelligence. Those who believe intelligence is culturally relative dispute the idea that any one test could fairly measure intelligence across different cultures. Others, however, view intelligence as a basic cognitive ability independent of culture.
In recent years, a number of theorists have argued that standard intelligence tests measure only a portion of the human abilities that could be considered aspects of intelligence. Other scholars believe that such tests accurately measure intelligence and that the lack of agreement on a definition of intelligence does not invalidate its measurement. In their view, intelligence is much like many scientific concepts that are accurately measured well before scientists understand what the measurement actually means. Gravity, temperature, and radiation are all examples of concepts that were measured before they were understood.
"Intelligence," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2003
http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2003 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.





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How well did I do? What does my score mean?

Intelligence Interval      Cognitive Designation
40 - 54Severely challenged (Less than 1% of test takers)
55 - 69Challenged (2.3% of test takers)
70 - 84Below average
85 - 114Average (68% of test takers)
115 - 129Above average
130 - 144Gifted (2.3% of test takers)
145 - 159Genius (Less than 1% of test takers)
160 - 175Extraordinary genius

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Thursday, March 28, 2013


Raven johnson green biology nine- free e-book downloads.


Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living . Reven n' Johnson's Green biology book is the main foundation for Sri lnakan a/l bio since students.you can download it from hear.
 

http://www.gobookee.com/raven-johnson-green-biology-nine/


Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy.[1] Biology has many subdisciplines unified by five so-called axioms of modern biology:[2]
  1. Cells are the basic unit of life
  2. Genes are the basic unit of heredity
  3. New species and inherited traits are the product of evolution
  4. An organism regulates its internal environment to maintain a stable and constant condition
  5. Living organisms consume and transform energy
Subdisciplines of biology are defined by the scale at which organisms are studied and the methods used to study them: biochemistryexamines the rudimentary chemistry of life; molecular biology studies the complex interactions among biological moleculescellular biology examines the basic building block of all life, the cellphysiology examines the physical and chemical functions of tissuesorgans, and organ systems of an organism; evolutionary biology examines the processes that produced the diversity of life; and ecology examines how organisms interact in their environment.

           
The term biology is derived from the Greek word βίοςbios, "life" and the suffix -λογία-logia, "study of."[4] The Latin form of the term first appeared in 1736 when Linnaeus (Carl von Linné) used biologi in his Bibliotheca botanica. It was used again in 1766 in a work entitled Philosophiae naturalis sive physicae: tomus III, continens geologian, biologian, phytologian generalis, by Michael Christoph Hanov, a disciple of Christian Wolff. The first German use, Biologie, was used in a 1771 translation of Linnaeus' work. In 1797, Theodor Georg Roose used the term in a book, Grundzüge der Lehre van der Lebenskraft, in the preface. Karl Friedrich Burdach used the term in 1800 in a more restricted sense of the study of human beings from a morphological, physiological and psychological perspective (Propädeutik zum Studien der gesammten Heilkunst). The term came into its modern usage with the six-volume treatise Biologie, oder Philosophie der lebenden Natur (1802–22) by Gottfried Reinhold Treviranus, who announced:[5]
The objects of our research will be the different forms and manifestations of life, the conditions and laws under which these phenomena occur, and the causes through which they have been effected. The science that concerns itself with these objects we will indicate by the name biology [Biologie] or the doctrine of life [Lebenslehre]. (1:4)
Although modern biology is a relatively recent development, sciences related to and included within it have been studied since ancient times. Natural philosophy was studied as early as the ancient civilizations of MesopotamiaEgypt, the Indian subcontinent, and China. However, the origins of modern biology and its approach to the study of nature are most often traced back to ancient Greece.[6] While the formal study of medicine dates back toHippocrates (ca. 460 BC – ca. 370 BC), it was Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC) who contributed most extensively to the development of biology. Especially important are his History of Animals and other works where he showed naturalist leanings, and later more empirical works that focused on biological causation and the diversity of life. Aristotle's successor at the LyceumTheophrastus, wrote a series of books on botany that survived as the most important contribution of antiquity to the plant sciences, even into the Middle Ages.
Scholars of the medieval Islamic world who wrote on biology included al-Jahiz (781–869), Al-Dinawari (828–896), who wrote on botany,[7] and Rhazes(865–925) who wrote on anatomy and physiology. Medicine was especially well studied by Islamic scholars working in Greek philosopher traditions, while natural history drew heavily on Aristotelian thought, especially in upholding a fixed hierarchy of life.
Biology began to quickly develop and grow with Antony van Leeuwenhoek's improvement of the microscope. It was then that scholars discovered spermatozoabacteriainfusoria and the diversity of microscopic life. Investigations by Jan Swammerdam led to new interest in entomology and helped to develop the basic techniques of microscopic dissection and staining.[8]
Advances in microscopy also had a profound impact on biological thinking. In the early 19th century, a number of biologists pointed to the central importance of the cell. Then, in 1838, Schleidenand Schwann began promoting the now universal ideas that (1) the basic unit of organisms is the cell and (2) that individual cells have all the characteristics of life, although they opposed the idea that (3) all cells come from the division of other cells. Thanks to the work of Robert Remak and Rudolf Virchow, however, by the 1860s most biologists accepted all three tenets of what came to be known as cell theory.[9]
Meanwhile, taxonomy and classification became the focus of natural historians. Carl Linnaeus published a basic taxonomy for the natural world in 1735 (variations of which have been in use ever since), and in the 1750s introduced scientific names for all his species.[10] Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, treated species as artificial categories and living forms as malleable—even suggesting the possibility of common descent. Though he was opposed to evolution, Buffon is a key figure in the history of evolutionary thought; his work influenced the evolutionary theories of both Lamarck and Darwin.[11]
Serious evolutionary thinking originated with the works of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, who was the first to present a coherent theory of evolution.[12] He posited that evolution was the result of environmental stress on properties of animals, meaning that the more frequently and rigorously an organ was used, the more complex and efficient it would become, thus adapting the animal to its environment. Lamarck believed that these acquired traits could then be passed on to the animal's offspring, who would further develop and perfect them.[13] However, it was the British naturalistCharles Darwin, combining the biogeographical approach of Humboldt, the uniformitarian geology of Lyell, Malthus's writings on population growth, and his own morphological expertise and extensive natural observations, who forged a more successful evolutionary theory based on natural selection; similar reasoning and evidence led Alfred Russel Wallace to independently reach the same conclusions.[14] Although it was the subject of controversy (which continues to this day), Darwin's theory quickly spread through the scientific community and soon became a central axiom of the rapidly developing science of biology.
The discovery of the physical representation of heredity came along with evolutionary principles and population genetics. In the 1940s and early 1950s, experiments pointed to DNA as the component of chromosomes that held the trait-carrying units that had become known as genes. A focus on new kinds of model organisms such as viruses and bacteria, along with the discovery of the double helical structure of DNA in 1953, marked the transition to the era of molecular genetics. From the 1950s to present times, biology has been vastly extended in the molecular domain. The genetic code was cracked by Har Gobind KhoranaRobert W. Holley and Marshall Warren Nirenberg after DNA was understood to contain codons. Finally, the Human Genome Project was launched in 1990 with the goal of mapping the general human genome. This project was essentially completed in 2003,[15] with further analysis still being published. The Human Genome Project was the first step in a globalized effort to incorporate accumulated knowledge of biology into a functional, molecular definition of the human body and the bodies of other organisms.

Foundations of modern biology

Much of modern biology can be encompassed within five unifying principles: cell theory, evolution, genetics, homeostasis, and energy.[2]
Cells in culture, stained for keratin(red) and DNA (green)

Cell theory

Cell theory states that the cell is the fundamental unit of life, and that all living things are composed of one or more cells or the secreted products of those cells (e.g. shells). All cells arise from other cells through cell division. In multicellular organisms, every cell in the organism's body derives ultimately from a single cell in a fertilized egg. The cell is also considered to be the basic unit in many pathological processes.[16] Additionally, the phenomenon of energy flow occurs in cells in processes that are part of the function known as metabolism. Finally, cells contain hereditary information (DNA) which is passed from cell to cell during cell division.

Evolution

Natural selection of a population for dark coloration.
A central organizing concept in biology is that life changes and develops through evolution, and that all life-forms known have a common origin. Introduced into the scientific lexicon by Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck in 1809,[17] evolution was established by Charles Darwin fifty years later as a viable scientific model when he articulated its driving force: natural selection.[18][19] (Alfred Russel Wallace is recognized as the co-discoverer of this concept as he helped research and experiment with the concept of evolution.)[20] Evolution is now used to explain the great variations of life found on Earth.
Darwin theorized that species and breeds developed through the processes of natural selection and artificial selection or selective breeding.[21] Genetic drift was embraced as an additional mechanism of evolutionary development in the modern synthesis of the theory.[22]
The evolutionary history of the species—which describes the characteristics of the various species from which it descended—together with its genealogical relationship to every other species is known as its phylogeny. Widely varied approaches to biology generate information about phylogeny. These include the comparisons of DNA sequences conducted within molecular biology or genomics, and comparisons of fossils or other records of ancient organisms in paleontology.[23] Biologists organize and analyze evolutionary relationships through various methods, including phylogeneticsphenetics, and cladistics. (For a summary of major events in the evolution of life as currently understood by biologists, see evolutionary timeline.)
The theory of evolution postulates that all organisms on the Earth, both living and extinct, have descended from a common ancestor or an ancestral gene pool. This last universal common ancestor of all organisms is believed to have appeared about 3.5 billion years ago.[24] Biologists generally regard the universality and ubiquity of the genetic code as definitive evidence in favor of the theory of universal common descent for all bacteriaarchaea, and eukaryotes (see: origin of life).[25]
Punnett square depicting a cross between two pea plants heterozygous for purple (B) and white (b) blossoms

Genetics

Genes are the primary units of inheritance in all organisms. A gene is a unit of heredity and corresponds to a region of DNA that influences the form or function of an organism in specific ways. All organisms, from bacteria to animals, share the same basic machinery that copies and translates DNA intoproteins. Cells transcribe a DNA gene into an RNA version of the gene, and a ribosome then translates the RNA into a protein, a sequence of amino acids. The translation code from RNA codon to amino acid is the same for most organisms, but slightly different for some. For example, a sequence of DNA that codes for insulin in humans also codes for insulin when inserted into other organisms, such as plants.[26]
DNA usually occurs as linear chromosomes in eukaryotes, and circular chromosomes in prokaryotes. A chromosome is an organized structure consisting of DNA and histones. The set of chromosomes in a cell and any other hereditary information found in the mitochondriachloroplasts, or other locations is collectively known as its genome. In eukaryotes, genomic DNA is located in the cell nucleus, along with small amounts in mitochondria andchloroplasts. In prokaryotes, the DNA is held within an irregularly shaped body in the cytoplasm called the nucleoid.[27] The genetic information in a genome is held within genes, and the complete assemblage of this information in an organism is called its genotype.[28]

Homeostasis

The hypothalamus secretes CRH, which directs the pituitary gland to secrete ACTH. In turn, ACTH directs the adrenal cortex to secrete glucocorticoids, such as cortisol. The GCs then reduce the rate of secretion by the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland once a sufficient amount of GCs has been released.[29]
Homeostasis is the ability of an open system to regulate its internal environment to maintain stable conditions by means of multiple dynamic equilibriumadjustments controlled by interrelated regulation mechanisms. All living organisms, whether unicellular or multicellular, exhibit homeostasis.[30]
To maintain dynamic equilibrium and effectively carry out certain functions, a system must detect and respond to perturbations. After the detection of a perturbation, a biological system normally responds through negative feedback. This means stabilizing conditions by either reducing or increasing the activity of an organ or system. One example is the release of glucagon when sugar levels are too low.
Basic overview of energy and human life.

Energy

The survival of a living organism depends on the continuous input of energy. Chemical reactions that are responsible for its structure and function are tuned to extract energy from substances that act as its food and transform them to help form new cells and sustain them. In this process, molecules of chemical substances that constitute food play two roles; first, they contain energy that can be transformed for biological chemical reactions; second, they develop new molecular structures made up of biomolecules.
The organisms responsible for the introduction of energy into an ecosystem are known as producers orautotrophs. Nearly all of these organisms originally draw energy from the sun.[31] Plants and otherphototrophs use solar energy via a process known as photosynthesis to convert raw materials into organic molecules, such as ATP, whose bonds can be broken to release energy.[32] A few ecosystems, however, depend entirely on energy extracted by chemotrophs from methanesulfides, or other non-luminal energy sources.[33]
Some of the captured energy is used to produce biomass to sustain life and provide energy for growth and development. The majority of the rest of this energy is lost as heat and waste molecules. The most important processes for converting the energy trapped in chemical substances into energy useful to sustain life are metabolism[34] and cellular respiration.[35]

Research

Structural

Schematic of typical animal cell depicting the variousorganelles and structures.
Molecular biology is the study of biology at a molecular level.[36] This field overlaps with other areas of biology, particularly with geneticsand biochemistry. Molecular biology chiefly concerns itself with understanding the interactions between the various systems of a cell, including the interrelationship of DNA, RNA, and protein synthesis and learning how these interactions are regulated.
Cell biology studies the structural and physiological properties of cells, including their behaviors, interactions, and environment. This is done on both the microscopic and molecular levels, for single-celled organisms such as bacteria as well as the specialized cells in multicellular organisms such as humans. Understanding the structure and function of cells is fundamental to all of the biological sciences. The similarities and differences between cell types are particularly relevant to molecular biology.
Anatomy considers the forms of macroscopic structures such as organs and organ systems.[37]
Genetics is the science of genesheredity, and the variation of organisms.[38][39] Genes encode the information necessary for synthesizing proteins, which in turn play a large role in influencing (though, in many instances, not completely determining) the finalphenotype of the organism. In modern research, genetics provides important tools in the investigation of the function of a particular gene, or the analysis of genetic interactions. Within organisms, genetic information generally is carried in chromosomes, where it is represented in the chemical structure of particular DNA molecules.
Developmental biology studies the process by which organisms grow and develop. Originating in embryology, modern developmental biology studies the genetic control of cell growth,differentiation, and "morphogenesis," which is the process that progressively gives rise to tissuesorgans, and anatomyModel organisms for developmental biology include the round wormCaenorhabditis elegans,[40] the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster,[41] the zebrafish Danio rerio,[42] the mouse Mus musculus,,[43] and the weed Arabidopsis thaliana.[44][45] (A model organism is aspecies that is extensively studied to understand particular biological phenomena, with the expectation that discoveries made in that organism provide insight into the workings of other organisms.)[46]

Physiological

Physiology studies the mechanical, physical, and biochemical processes of living organisms by attempting to understand how all of the structures function as a whole. The theme of "structure to function" is central to biology. Physiological studies have traditionally been divided into plant physiology and animal physiology, but some principles of physiology are universal, no matter what particular organism is being studied. For example, what is learned about the physiology of yeast cells can also apply to human cells. The field of animal physiology extends the tools and methods of human physiology to non-human species. Plant physiology borrows techniques from both research fields.
Physiology studies how for example nervousimmuneendocrinerespiratory, and circulatory systems, function and interact. The study of these systems is shared with medically oriented disciplines such as neurology and immunology.

Evolutionary

Evolutionary research is concerned with the origin and descent of species, as well as their change over time, and includes scientists from many taxonomically oriented disciplines. For example, it generally involves scientists who have special training in particular organisms such as mammalogyornithologybotany, or herpetology, but use those organisms as systems to answer general questions about evolution.
Evolutionary biology is partly based on paleontology, which uses the fossil record to answer questions about the mode and tempo of evolution,[47] and partly on the developments in areas such aspopulation genetics[48] and evolutionary theory. In the 1980s, developmental biology re-entered evolutionary biology from its initial exclusion from the modern synthesis through the study ofevolutionary developmental biology.[49] Related fields often considered part of evolutionary biology are phylogeneticssystematics, and taxonomy.

Systematics

phylogenetic tree of all living things, based on rRNA gene data, showing the separation of the three domains bacteriaarchaea, and eukaryotes as described initially by Carl Woese. Trees constructed with other genes are generally similar, although they may place some early-branching groups very differently, presumably owing to rapid rRNA evolution. The exact relationships of the three domains are still being debated.

The hierarchy of biological classification's eight major taxonomic ranks. Intermediate minor rankings are not shown. This diagram uses a 3 Domains / 6 Kingdoms format
Multiple speciation events create a tree structured system of relationships between species. The role of systematics is to study these relationships and thus the differences and similarities between species and groups of species.[50] However, systematics was an active field of research long before evolutionary thinking was common.[51] The classification, taxonomy, and nomenclature of biological organisms is administered by the International Code of Zoological NomenclatureInternational Code of Botanical Nomenclature, and International Code of Nomenclature of Bacteriafor animals, plants, and bacteria, respectively. The classification ofvirusesviroidsprions, and all other sub-viral agents that demonstrate biological characteristics is conducted by theInternational Code of Virus classification and nomenclature.[52][53][54][55] However, several other viral classification systems do exist.
Traditionally, living things have been divided into five kingdoms:MoneraProtistaFungiPlantaeAnimalia.[56]
However, many scientists now consider this five-kingdom system outdated. Modern alternative classification systems generally begin with the three-domain systemArchaea (originally Archaebacteria); Bacteria (originally Eubacteria); Eukaryota (including protistsfungiplants, andanimals)[57] These domains reflect whether the cells have nuclei or not, as well as differences in the chemical composition of the cell exteriors.[57]
Further, each kingdom is broken down recursively until each species is separately classified. The order is: DomainKingdomPhylumClassOrder;FamilyGenusSpecies.
There is also a series of intracellular parasites that are "on the edge of life"[58] in terms of metabolic activity, meaning that many scientists do not actually classify these structures as alive, due to their lack of at least one or more of the fundamental functions that define life. They are classified asvirusesviroidsprions, or satellites.
The scientific name of an organism is generated from its genus and species. For example, humans are listed as Homo sapiensHomo is the genus, and sapiens the species. When writing the scientific name of an organism, it is proper to capitalize the first letter in the genus and put all of the species in lowercase. Additionally, the entire term may be italicized or underlined.[59][60]
The dominant classification system is called the Linnaean taxonomy. It includes ranks and binomial nomenclature. How organisms are named is governed by international agreements such as the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN), the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN), and the International Code of Nomenclature of Bacteria (ICNB).
A merging draft, BioCode, was published in 1997 in an attempt to standardize nomenclature in these three areas, but has yet to be formally adopted.[61] The BioCode draft has received little attention since 1997; its originally planned implementation date of January 1, 2000, has passed unnoticed. A revised BioCode that, instead of replacing the existing codes, would provide a unified context for them, was proposed in 2011.[62][63][64] However, the International Botanical Congress of 2011 declined to consider the BioCode proposal. The International Code of Virus Classification and Nomenclature (ICVCN) remains outside the BioCode.

Ecology

Mutual symbiosis between clownfish of the genus Amphiprion that dwell among the tentacles of tropical sea anemones. The territorial fish protects the anemone from anemone-eating fish, and in turn the stinging tentacles of the anemone protects the clown fish from its predators.
Ecology studies the distribution and abundance of living organisms, and the interactions between organisms and their environment.[65] The habitatof an organism can be described as the local abiotic factors such as climate and ecology, in addition to the other organisms and biotic factors that share its environment.[66] One reason that biological systems can be difficult to study is that so many different interactions with other organisms and the environment are possible, even on small scales. A microscopic bacterium in a local sugar gradient is responding to its environment as much as a lion searching for food in the African savanna. For any species, behaviors can be co-operativeaggressiveparasitic, or symbiotic. Matters become more complex when two or more species interact in an ecosystem.
Ecological systems are studied at several different levels, from individuals and populations to ecosystems and the biosphere. The term population biology is often used interchangeably with population ecology, although population biology is more frequently used when studying diseases,viruses, and microbes, while population ecology is more commonly used when studying plants and animals. Ecology draws on many subdisciplines.
Ethology studies animal behavior (particularly that of social animals such as primates and canids), and is sometimes considered a branch of zoology. Ethologists have been particularly concerned with the evolution of behavior and the understanding of behavior in terms of the theory ofnatural selection. In one sense, the first modern ethologist was Charles Darwin, whose book, The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals,influenced many ethologists to come.[67]
Biogeography studies the spatial distribution of organisms on the Earth,[68] focusing on topics like plate tectonicsclimate changedispersal andmigration, and cladistics.

Branches of biology

These are the main branches of biology:[69][70]
  • Aerobiology – the study of airborne organic particles
  • Agriculture – the study of producing crops from the land, with an emphasis on practical applications
  • Anatomy – the study of form and function, in plants, animals, and other organisms, or specifically in humans
  • Arachnology – the study of arachnids
  • Astrobiology – the study of evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe—also known as exobiologyexopaleontology, and bioastronomy
  • Biochemistry – the study of the chemical reactions required for life to exist and function, usually a focus on the cellular level
  • Bioengineering – the study of biology through the means of engineering with an emphasis on applied knowledge and especially related to biotechnology
  • Biogeography – the study of the distribution of species spatially and temporally
  • Bioinformatics – the use of information technology for the study, collection, and storage of genomic and other biological data
  • Biomathematics (or Mathematical biology) – the quantitative or mathematical study of biological processes, with an emphasis on modeling
  • Biomechanics – often considered a branch of medicine, the study of the mechanics of living beings, with an emphasis on applied use through prosthetics or orthotics
  • Biomedical research – the study of the human body in health and disease
  • Biomusicology - study of music from a biological point of view.
  • Biophysics – the study of biological processes through physics, by applying the theories and methods traditionally used in the physical sciences
  • Biotechnology – a new and sometimes controversial branch of biology that studies the manipulation of living matter, including genetic modification and synthetic biology
  • Building biology – the study of the indoor living environment
  • Botany – the study of plants
  • Cell biology – the study of the cell as a complete unit, and the molecular and chemical interactions that occur within a living cell
  • Conservation biology – the study of the preservation, protection, or restoration of the natural environment, natural ecosystems, vegetation, and wildlife
  • Cryobiology – the study of the effects of lower than normally preferred temperatures on living beings
  • Developmental biology – the study of the processes through which an organism forms, from zygote to full structure
  • Ecology – the study of the interactions of living organisms with one another and with the non-living elements of their environment
  • Embryology – the study of the development of embryo (from fecundation to birth)
  • Entomology – the study of insects
  • Environmental biology – the study of the natural world, as a whole or in a particular area, especially as affected by human activity
  • Epidemiology – a major component of public health research, studying factors affecting the health of populations
  • Epigenetics – the study of heritable changes in gene expression or cellular phenotype caused by mechanisms other than changes in the underlying DNA sequence
  • Ethology – the study of animal behavior
  • Evolutionary biology – the study of the origin and descent of species over time
  • Genetics – the study of genes and heredity
  • Hematology ( also known as Haematology ) - the study of blood and blood - forming organs.
  • Herpetology – the study of reptiles and amphibians
  • Histology – the study of cells and tissues, a microscopic branch of anatomy
  • Ichthyology – the study of fish
  • Integrative biology – the study of whole organisms
  • Limnology – the study of inland waters
  • Mammalogy – the study of mammals
  • Marine biology (or Biological oceanography) – the study of ocean ecosystems, plants, animals, and other living beings
  • Microbiology – the study of microscopic organisms (microorganisms) and their interactions with other living things
  • Molecular biology – the study of biology and biological functions at the molecular level, some cross over with biochemistry
  • Mycology – the study of fungi
  • Neurobiology – the study of the nervous system, including anatomy, physiology and pathology
  • Oncology – the study of cancer processes, including virus or mutation oncogenesisangiogenesis and tissues remoldings
  • Ornithology – the study of birds
  • Population biology – the study of groups of conspecific organisms, including
  • Paleontology – the study of fossils and sometimes geographic evidence of prehistoric life
  • Pathobiology or pathology – the study of diseases, and the causes, processes, nature, and development of disease
  • Parasitology – the study of parasites and parasitism
  • Pharmacology – the study and practical application of preparation, use, and effects of drugs and synthetic medicines
  • Physiology – the study of the functioning of living organisms and the organs and parts of living organisms
  • Phytopathology – the study of plant diseases (also called Plant Pathology)
  • Psychobiology – the study of the biological bases of psychology
  • Sociobiology – the study of the biological bases of sociology
  • Structural biology – a branch of molecular biologybiochemistry, and biophysics concerned with the molecular structure of biological macromolecules
  • Synthetic Biology- research integrating biology and engineering; construction of biological functions not found in nature
  • Virology – the study of viruses and some other virus-like agents
  • Zoology – the study of animals, including classification, physiology, development, and behavior (branches include: EntomologyEthologyHerpetologyIchthyologyMammalogy, andOrnithology)