The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to biology:
Biology – The natural science that studies life. Areas of focus include structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy.
History of biology
History of anatomy History of biochemistry History of biotechnology History of botany History of ecology History of genetics History of evolutionary thought: Darwinism Eclipse of Darwinism (Lamarckism, Orthogenesis, Structuralism, and Mutationism) Modern (evolutionary) synthesis History of molecular evolution History of speciation History of marine biology History of medicine History of model organisms History of molecular biology Natural history History of neuroscience History of plant systematics History of pathology History of virology History of zoology
Overview Biology Science Life Properties: Adaptation – Energy processing – Growth – Order – Regulation – Reproduction – Response to environment Biological organization: atom – molecule – cell – tissue – organ – organ system – organism – population – community – ecosystem – biosphere Approach: Reductionism – emergent property – mechanistic Biology as a science: Natural science Scientific method: observation – research question – hypothesis – testability – prediction – experiment – data – statistics Scientific theory – scientific law Research method List of research methods in biology Scientific literature List of biology journals: peer review
Chemical basis Outline of biochemistry Atoms and molecules matter – element – atom – proton – neutron – electron– Bohr model – isotope – chemical bond – ionic bond – ions – covalent bond – hydrogen bond – molecule Water: properties of water – solvent – cohesion – adhesion – surface tension – pH Organic compounds: carbon – carbon-carbon bonds – hydrocarbon – monosaccharide – amino acids – nucleotide – functional group – monomer – adenosine triphosphate (ATP) – lipids – oil – sugar – vitamins – neurotransmitter – wax Macromolecules: polysaccharide: cellulose – carbohydrate – chitin – glycogen – starch proteins: primary structure – secondary structure – tertiary structure – conformation – native state – protein folding – enzyme – receptor – transmembrane receptor – ion channel – membrane transporter – collagen – pigments: chlorophyll – carotenoid – xanthophyll – melanin – prion lipids: cell membrane – fats – phospholipids nucleic acids: DNA – RNA
Cells Outline of cell biology Cell structure: Cell coined by Robert Hooke Techniques: cell culture – flow cytometry – microscope – light microscope – electron microscopy – SEM – TEM – live cell imaging Organelles: Cytoplasm – Vacuole – Peroxisome – Plastid Cell nucleus Nucleoplasm – Nucleolus – Chromatin – Chromosome Endomembrane system Nuclear envelope – Endoplasmic reticulum – Golgi apparatus – Vesicles – Lysosome Energy creators: Mitochondrion and Chloroplast Biological membranes: Plasma membrane – Mitochondrial membrane – Chloroplast membrane Other subcellular features: Cell wall – pseudopod – cytoskeleton – mitotic spindle – flagellum – cilium Cell transport: Diffusion – Osmosis – isotonic – active transport – phagocytosis Cellular reproduction: cytokinesis – centromere – meiosis Nuclear reproduction: mitosis – interphase – prophase – metaphase – anaphase – telophase programmed cell death – apoptosis – cell senescence Metabolism: enzyme - activation energy - proteolysis – cooperativity Cellular respiration Glycolysis – Pyruvate dehydrogenase complex – Citric acid cycle – electron transport chain – fermentation Photosynthesis light-dependent reactions – Calvin cycle Cell cycle mitosis – chromosome – haploid – diploid – polyploidy – prophase – metaphase – anaphase – telophase – cytokinesis – meiosis
Genetics Outline of Genetics Inheritance heredity – Mendelian inheritance – gene – locus – trait – allele – polymorphism – homozygote – heterozygote – hybrid – hybridization – dihybrid cross – Punnett square – inbreeding genotype–phenotype distinction – genotype – phenotype – dominant gene – recessive gene genetic interactions – Mendel's law of segregation – genetic mosaic – maternal effect – penetrance – complementation – suppression – epistasis – genetic linkage Model organisms: Drosophila – Arabidopsis – Caenorhabditis elegans – mouse – Saccharomyces cerevisiae – Escherichia coli – Lambda phage – Xenopus – chicken – zebrafish – Ciona intestinalis – amphioxus Techniques: genetic screen – linkage map – genetic map DNA Nucleic acid double helix Nucleobase: adenine (A) – cytosine (C) – guanine (G) – thymine (T) – uracil (U) DNA replication – mutation – mutation rate – proofreading – DNA mismatch repair – point mutation – crossover – recombination – plasmid – transposon Gene expression Central dogma of molecular biology: nucleosome – genetic code – codon – transcription factor – transcription – translation – RNA – histone – telomere heterochromatin – promoter – RNA polymerase Protein biosynthesis – ribosomes Gene regulation operon – activator – repressor – corepressor – enhancer – alternative splicing Genomes DNA sequencing – high throughput sequencing – bioinformatics Proteome – proteomics – metabolome – metabolomics DNA paternity testing Biotechnology (see also Outline of biochemical techniques and Molecular biology): DNA fingerprinting – genetic fingerprint – microsatellite – gene knockout – imprinting – RNA interference Genomics – computational biology – bioinformatics – gel electrophoresis – transformation – PCR – PCR mutagenesis – primer – chromosome walking – RFLP – restriction enzyme – sequencing – shotgun sequencing – cloning – culture – DNA microarray – electrophoresis – protein tag – affinity chromatography – x-ray diffraction – proteomics – mass spectrometry – CRISPR – gene therapy Genes, development, and evolution Apoptosis French flag model Pattern formation Evo-devo gene toolkit Transcription factor
Evolution Outline of evolution (see also evolutionary biology) Evolutionary processes evolution microevolution: adaptation – selection – natural selection – directional selection – sexual selection – genetic drift – sexual reproduction – asexual reproduction – colony – allele frequency – neutral theory of molecular evolution – population genetics – Hardy–Weinberg principle Speciation Species Phylogeny Lineage (evolution) – evolutionary tree – cladistics – species – taxon – clade – monophyletic – polyphyly – paraphyly – heredity – phenotypic trait – nucleic acid sequence – synapomorphy – homology – molecular clock – outgroup (cladistics) – maximum parsimony (phylogenetics) – Computational phylogenetics Linnaean taxonomy: Carl Linnaeus – domain (biology) – kingdom (biology) – phylum – class (biology) – order (biology) – family (biology) – genus – species Three-domain system: archaea – bacteria – eukaryote – protist – fungi – plant – animal Binomial nomenclature: scientific classification – Homo sapiens History of life Origin of life – hierarchy of life – Miller–Urey experiment Macroevolution: adaptive radiation – convergent evolution – extinction – mass extinction – fossil – taphonomy – geologic time – plate tectonics – continental drift – vicariance – Gondwana – Pangaea – endosymbiosis
Life
Bacteria and Archaea Protists Plant diversity Green algae Chlorophyta Charophyta Bryophytes Marchantiophyta Anthocerotophyta Moss Pteridophytes Lycopodiophyta Polypodiophyta Seed plants Cycadophyta Ginkgophyta Pinophyta Gnetophyta Magnoliophyta Fungi Yeast – mold (fungus) – mushroom Animal diversity Invertebrates: sponge – cnidarian – coral – jellyfish – Hydra (genus) – sea anemone flatworms – nematodes arthropods: crustacean – chelicerata – myriapoda – arachnids – insects – annelids – molluscs Vertebrates: fishes: – agnatha – chondrichthyes – osteichthyes Tiktaalik tetrapods amphibians reptiles birds flightless birds – Neognathae – dinosaurs mammals placental: primates marsupial monotreme Viruses DNA viruses – RNA viruses – retroviruses
Plant form and function
Plant body Organ systems: root – shoot – stem – leaf – flower Plant nutrition and transport Vascular tissue – bark (botany) – Casparian strip – turgor pressure – xylem – phloem – transpiration – wood – trunk (botany) Plant development tropism – taxis seed – cotyledon – meristem – apical meristem – vascular cambium – cork cambium alternation of generations – gametophyte – antheridium – archegonium – sporophyte – spore – sporangium Plant reproduction angiosperms – flower – reproduction – sperm – pollination – self-pollination – cross-pollination – nectar – pollen Plant responses Plant hormone – ripening – fruit – Ethylene as a plant hormone – toxin – pollinator – phototropism – skototropism – phototropin – phytochrome – auxin – photoperiodism – gravity
Animal form and function
General features: morphology (biology) – anatomy – physiology – biological tissues – organ (biology) – organ systems Water and salt balance Body fluids: osmotic pressure – ionic composition – volume Diffusion – osmosis) – Tonicity – sodium – potassium – calcium – chloride Excretion Nutrition and digestion Digestive system: stomach – intestine – liver – nutrition – primary nutritional groups metabolism – kidney – excretion Breathing Respiratory system: lungs Circulation Circulatory system: heart – artery – vein – capillary – Blood – blood cell Lymphatic system: lymph node Muscle and movement Skeletal system: bone – cartilage – joint – tendon Muscular system: muscle – actin – myosin – reflex Nervous system Neuron – dendrite – axon – nerve – electrochemical gradient – electrophysiology – action potential – signal transduction – synapse – receptor – Central nervous system: brain – spinal cord limbic system – memory – vestibular system Peripheral nervous system Sensory nervous system: eye – vision – audition – proprioception – olfaction – Integumentary system: skin cell Hormonal control Endocrine system: hormone
Animal reproduction Reproductive system: testes – ovary – pregnancy Fish#Reproductive system Mammalian reproductive system Human reproductive system Mammalian penis Os penis Penile spines Genitalia of bottlenose dolphins Genitalia of marsupials Equine reproductive system Even-toed ungulate#Genitourinary system Bull#Reproductive anatomy Carnivora#Reproductive system Fossa (animal)#External genitalia Female genitalia of spotted hyenas Cat anatomy#Genitalia Genitalia of dogs Canine penis Bulbus glandis Animal development stem cell – blastula – gastrula – egg (biology) – fetus – placenta - gamete – spermatid – ovum – zygote – embryo – cellular differentiation – morphogenesis – homeobox Immune system antibody – host – vaccine – immune cell – AIDS – T cell – leucocyte Animal behavior Behavior: mating – animal communication – seek shelter – migration (ecology) Fixed action pattern Altruism (biology)
Ecology Outline of ecology Ecosystems: Ecology – Biodiversity – habitat – plankton – thermocline – saprobe Abiotic component: water – light – radiation – temperature – humidity – atmosphere – acidity Microbe – biomass – organic matter – decomposer – decomposition – carbon – nutrient cycling – solar energy – topography – tilt – Windward and leeward – precipitation Temperature – biome Populations Population ecology: organism – geographical area – sexual reproduction – population density – population growth – birth rate – death Rate – immigration rate – exponential growth – carrying capacity – logistic function – natural environment – competition (biology) – mating – biological dispersal – endemic (ecology) – growth curve (biology) – habitat – drinking water – resource – human population – technology – Green revolution Communities Community (ecology) – ecological niche – keystone species – mimicry – symbiosis – pollination – mutualism – commensalism – parasitism – predation – invasive species – environmental heterogeneity – edge effect