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List of biology topics
From Citizendium, the Citizens' Compendium
For N-Z, see List of biology topics N-Z
Related lists: list of biochemistry topics, list of molecular biology topics, list of evolutionary biology topics, list of biologists.
A
- abiogenesis: Add brief definition or description
- aerobic respiration: Add brief definition or description
- absorption spectrum: Add brief definition or description
- acclimatization: Add brief definition or description
- acetyl CoA: Add brief definition or description
- acid-base physiology: Add brief definition or description
- acrosome: Add brief definition or description
- acrosome reaction: Add brief definition or description
-
actin: A globular protein that can polymerise to form microfilaments; essential for cell movement and muscle contraction. [e]
- action potential: A brief change in voltage that travels along a cell membrane. [e]
- activation energy: Add brief definition or description
- active site: Add brief definition or description
- active transport: Add brief definition or description
- adaptation: Describes the event of a trait being selected by the mechanism of natural selection. [e]
- adaptive radiation: Add brief definition or description
- adenine: A base incorporated into DNA and RNA and part of an energy carrier, as ATP, in metabolism. [e]
- Adenosine triphosphate: A molecule sometimes called the "energy currency" of a cell [e] (ATP)
- Adenosine diphosphate: Add brief definition or description (ADP)
- aerobic: Add brief definition or description
-
affinity chromatography: Method to filter a specific molecule out of a solution. [e]
-
agriculture: The process of producing food, feed, fiber and other goods by the systematic raising of plants and animals. [e]
- albinism: Add brief definition or description
- albumin: Add brief definition or description
- alcohol: A chemical compound that contains a hydroxy group (OH). [e]
- Alexander Fleming: Scottish biologist and pharmacologist (1881-1955), best-known for the discovery of penicillin for which he won the Nobel Prize. [e]
-
Alfred Russel Wallace: (1823 – 1913) British explorer and naturalist, discovered the principle of natural selection independent of Darwin. [e]
- algae: Add brief definition or description
- allele: A gene flavor and one of a pair in a cell (one per chromosome). For example, Mendel used two different alleles for seed shape, one allele for round seeds (R) and the other for wrinkled seed shape (r). [e]
- allele frequency: Add brief definition or description
- allosteric site: Add brief definition or description
- allostery: Add brief definition or description
- alpha helix: Add brief definition or description
- alternation of generations: Add brief definition or description
- alternative splicing: Add brief definition or description
- Ames test: Add brief definition or description
- amine: An organic chemical containing a nitrogen atom with tetrahedral arrangement of it electron pairs and its lone pair of electrons. [e]
- amino acid: In biochemistry, an α-amino acid is an organic monomer consisting of an amino group, a carboxyl group, a hydrogen atom, and a residual group (commonly denoted as simply "R") covalently bonded to a central (alpha) carbon (Cα). [e]
- Adenosine monophosphate: Add brief definition or description (AMP)
- anabolism: Biological processes that build larger molecules from smaller ones, and increase the size of bones, organs and muscles. [e]
- anaerobic: Add brief definition or description
- anaphase: Add brief definition or description
- anatomy: The branch of morphology given to the study of the structure of members of the biological kingdom Animalia (animals). [e]
- Andrew Huxley: Add brief definition or description
- animal: A multicellular organism that feeds on other organisms; distinguished from plants and fungi, as well as single-celled organisms. [e]ia
- animal: A multicellular organism that feeds on other organisms; distinguished from plants and fungi, as well as single-celled organisms. [e]s
- antheridium: Add brief definition or description
- antibiotic: Drugs that reduce the growth or reproduction of bacteria. [e]
- antibiotic resistance: The development of resistance to an antibiotic in an organism originally susceptible to it [e]
- antibody: Add brief definition or description
- anticodon: Add brief definition or description
- antigen: A molecule that induces an immune response, such as bee pollen or proteins from viruses or bacteria. [e]
- antigenic determinant: Add brief definition or description
- antigenic shift: Add brief definition or description
- Antonie van Leeuwenhoek: (1632 - 1723) Dutch scientist who discovered single-celled organisms. [e]
- ants: Add brief definition or description
- apes: Add brief definition or description
- apical meristem: Add brief definition or description
- apoptosis: Programmed cell death by which cells in a multicellular organism undergo a controlled death. [e]
- Arabidopsis: Add brief definition or description
- arbovirus: Add brief definition or description
- archaebacteria: Add brief definition or description
- archegonium: Add brief definition or description
- artery: Add brief definition or description
- artificial life: Add brief definition or description
- aseptic technique in microbiology: Add brief definition or description
- asexual reproduction: Add brief definition or description
- ATPase: Add brief definition or description
- ATP synthase: Add brief definition or description
- audition: Add brief definition or description
- autecology: Add brief definition or description
- autoradiography: Add brief definition or description
- autosome: Add brief definition or description
- autotrophic: Add brief definition or description
- avian influenza: Add brief definition or description
- axon: Add brief definition or description
B
- B cell: Add brief definition or description
- bacteria: A major group of single-celled microorganisms. [e]
- bacterial conjugation: Add brief definition or description
- Barr body: Add brief definition or description
- behavior: The actions or reactions of an object or organism, usually in relation to a stimulus or its environment. [e]
- beta sheet: Add brief definition or description
- biodiversity: The study of the diversity of life. [e]
- biological dispersal: Add brief definition or description
- biological tissue: Add brief definition or description
-
biology: The science of life, of complex, self-organizing, information-processing systems living in the past, present or future. [e]
- blastomere: Add brief definition or description
- blastula: Add brief definition or description
- blunt end: Add brief definition or description
- 5-bromouracil: Add brief definition or description
- bacteria: Add brief definition or description
- barbiturate: Add brief definition or description
- biochemical techniques: Add brief definition or description
- biochemistry: The chemistry of living things; a field of both biology and chemistry. [e]
- bioinformatics: The study of (usually molecular) biological systems by computational means [e]
- membranes: An amphiliphilic envelope of cells and subcellular structural units [e]
- biological psychology: Add brief definition or description
- biological tissue: Add brief definition or descriptions
- biologist: Add brief definition or description
- biome: Add brief definition or description
- biomechanics: The study of the mechanics of biological systems [e]
- biophysics: The study of forces and energies in biological systems. [e]
- biopolymer: Add brief definition or description
- biotechnology: The application of biological principles in industrial production [e]
- BLAST: Add brief definition or description
- blastula: Add brief definition or description
- blood: Add brief definition or description
- blood cell: Add brief definition or description
- blood count: Add brief definition or description
- BOLD effect: Add brief definition or description
- bone: Biomineralized skeletal structure characteristic of vertebrates. [e]
- botany: The study of plants and fungi (mycology). [e]
- brain: The core unit of a central nervous system. [e]
- bryophyte: Add brief definition or description
C
- C3 carbon fixation: Add brief definition or description
- C4 photosynthesis: Add brief definition or description
- Calvin cycle: Add brief definition or description
- CAM photosynthesis: Add brief definition or description
- CAM plants: Add brief definition or description
- cancer: A generic term for a large group of diseases that can affect any part of the body; one defining feature is the rapid creation of abnormal cells that grow beyond their usual boundaries, and which can then invade adjoining parts of the body and spread to other organs. [e]
- capacitation: Add brief definition or description
- capillary: Add brief definition or description
- carbohydrate: Add brief definition or description
- carbon cycle: Add brief definition or description
- carbon fixation: Add brief definition or description
- carnivore: An animal that eats other animals in its primary diet. [e]
- Carolus Linnaeus: Add brief definition or description
- carotene: Add brief definition or description
- carrier: Add brief definition or description
- carrying capacity: Add brief definition or description
- cartilage: Add brief definition or description
- Casparian strip: Add brief definition or description
- catabolism: The metabolic process that breaks down molecules into smaller units. [e]
- cell: The basic unit of life, consisting of biochemical networks and a membrane. [e]
- cell biology: The study of the components of cells and their interactions. [e]
- cell culture: Add brief definition or description
- cell division: The process by which a parent cell divides into two or more daughter cells. [e]
- cell growth: Add brief definition or description
- cell membrane: The outer surface of a cell which encloses its contents. [e]
- cell metabolism: Add brief definition or description
- cell nucleus: Add brief definition or description -
- cell wall: Add brief definition or description
- cellular differentiation: Add brief definition or description
- cellular respiration: Add brief definition or description
- cellulose: Add brief definition or description
- centriole: Add brief definition or description
- centromere: Add brief definition or description
- centrosome: Add brief definition or description
- chaperone protein: Add brief definition or description
- Charles Robert Darwin: (1809 – 1882) English natural scientist, most famous for proposing the theory of natural selection. [e]
- chemiosmosis: Add brief definition or description
- chemautotrophic: Add brief definition or description
- chiasma: Add brief definition or description
- chimera (genetics): Add brief definition or description
- Chi square test: Add brief definition or description
- chlorophyll: Add brief definition or description
- chloroplast: Add brief definition or description
- chloroplast membrane: Add brief definition or description
- cholesterol: Principal sterol of all higher animals. [e]
- chromatid: Add brief definition or description
- chromatin: Add brief definition or description
- chromatography: Chemical purification process that separates substances based on differing affinities for other substances. [e]
- chromosome: Add brief definition or description
- chromosome walking: Add brief definition or description
- cilium: Add brief definition or description
- circadian rhythm: Add brief definition or description
- circulatory system: Add brief definition or description
- cis face: Add brief definition or description
- cisterna: Add brief definition or description
- citric acid cycle: Add brief definition or description
- cladistics: Add brief definition or description
- classical genetics: Add brief definition or description
- clearance: Add brief definition or description
- clogging: Add brief definition or description
- cloning: Add brief definition or description
- codon: Add brief definition or description
- codon usage bias: Add brief definition or description
- coenzyme: Add brief definition or description
- colchicine: Add brief definition or description
- collagen: Add brief definition or description
- colony: Add brief definition or description
- commensalism: Add brief definition or description
- common descent: Add brief definition or description
- communicable disease: Add brief definition or description
- community: Generally, a group of organisms sharing an environment. In human communities the shared environment may be defined by mutual interests, pooled resources, common beliefs, shared pursuits, perceived needs, or other common traits or characteristics, and may be associated with a shared identity which in the case of physical communities may include a sense of place. [e]
- community ecology: Add brief definition or description
- competition: Add brief definition or description
- competitive exclusion principle: Add brief definition or description
- competitive inhibition: Add brief definition or description
- computational biology: The study of biological systems by computational means [e]
- concentration gradient: Add brief definition or description
- continental drift: Add brief definition or description
- convergance: Add brief definition or description
- convergent evolution: Add brief definition or description
- cooperativity: Add brief definition or description
- cork cambium: Add brief definition or description
- cotyledon: Add brief definition or description
- Craig Venter: Add brief definition or description
- cristae: Add brief definition or description
- crossing over: Add brief definition or description
- cryobiology: The study of living organisms, organs, biological tissues or biological cells at low temperatures. [e]
- cryopreservation: A process where cells or whole tissues are preserved by cooling to low sub-zero temperatures. [e]
- cryptobiology: Add brief definition or description
- cryptobiosis: Add brief definition or description
- CT: Add brief definition or description
- C-terminus: Add brief definition or description
- culture: UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (2002) defined culture as "... the set of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features of a society or a social group..." that "encompasses, in addition to art and literature, lifestyles, ways of living together, value systems, traditions and beliefs". [e]
- cuticula: Add brief definition or description
- cyclic electron flow: Add brief definition or description
- cytokinesis: Add brief definition or description
- cytoplasm: Add brief definition or description
- cytoskeleton: The mechanical scaffold, made up of fibrous proteins, determining the shape of a cell. [e]
- cytosol: Add brief definition or description
- cytotoxic T cell: Add brief definition or description