FIND OUT MORE. Animals 96–97 • Flowering Plants 92–93 • Microorganisms 85
Biology
The study of life and living things is called biology. Scientists
who study biology are known as biologists. The main branches
of biology are zoology (the study of animals), botany (the study of
plants), and. MICROBIOLOGY (the study of tiny organisms).
MICROBIOLOGY
Microorganisms are living things that are
too small to be seen with the naked eye.
Microbiology is the study of these
microorganisms, which include bacteria,
and some fungi.WHAT DO MICROBIOLOGISTS DO?
Some microbiologists are interested in the micro-
organisms that cause diseases in animals and plants.
Some specialize in those microorganisms that may
be useful for the manufacture of drugs, or food, such
as bread. Others study microorganisms that recycle
essential nutrients in the Earth and its atmosphere.HOW DO ELECTRON MICROSCOPES WORK?
Electron microscopes work by passing a beam of tiny
particles called electrons through, or across the surface
of, a specimen, and onto a screen. This produces a
greatly magnified image. Scanning electron
microscopes produce a three-dimensional image that
can be captured in a photograph called an SEM.4 ELECTRON MICROSCOPE
A scientist looks inside a scanning
electron microscope screen that
displays a magnified image of a
specimen. He can see in detail
the specimen’s external features.1 STUDYING ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR
Zoologist Dr. Jane Goodall takes notes as she watches one member of a
group of chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania, Africa.
Goodall has spent many years studying chimpanzee behaviour.WHAT EXACTLY DO BIOLOGISTS STUDY?
Biologists study even more specialized
branches within zoology, botany, and
microbiology. Cell biology, for example,
involves studying one of the smallest units of
a living thing. Anatomy, on the other hand, looks
at the complete structure of organisms, whereas
physiology is the study of how organisms work.DO BIOLOGISTS ONLY STUDY STRUCTURE?
As well as learning about an organism’s structure,
biologists discover how an organism reproduces and
grows, how it behaves, where it lives, and how it
interacts with other organisms. In this way, today’s
biologists build up a complete picture of the biology
of an organism. At one time scientists knew little
more about living things than what they looked like.1 RED HIBISCUS
This tropical flowering plant has a trumpet-shaped flower and
yellow brush-like anthers (male sex organs) that surround five red
plate-like stigmas (female sex organs). Biologists have discovered
that as hummingbirds feed on hibiscus nectar (sugary liquid),
they transfer dusty pollen from the anthers to the stigmas.
If fertilization occurs, the plant makes seeds and reproduces.
Tube-like stamen is the
male reproductive structure
that produces pollen grains1 MICROORGANISM
This SEM shows a ribbon-like
trypanosome and a human blood
cell magnified 4,500 times. This
microorganism, found in African
tsetse fly saliva, infects human
blood, causing sleeping sickness.biology