How old is biology

Greece to Middle Ages Alcmaeon and Aristotle Influential errors of Galen Science's siesta 16th - 17th century 18th - 19th century To be completed Share Discover in a free daily email today's famous history and birthdays Enjoy the Famous Daily. The birth of biology: 5th - 4th century BC. The Greek philosophers, voracious in their curiosity, look with interest at the range of living creatures, from the humblest plant to man himself. A Greek name is coined by a German naturalist in the early 19th century for this study of all physical aspects of natural life - biology, from bios life and logos word or discourse.

It is a subject with clear subdivisions, such as botany, zoology or anatomy. But all are concerned with living organisms. The first man to make a significant contribution in biology is Alcmaeon, living in Crotona in the 5th century. Crotona is famous at the time for its Pythagorean scholars, but Alcmaeon seems not to have been of their school.

Alcmaeon is the first scientist known to have practised dissection in his researches. His aim is not anatomical, for his interest lies in trying to find the whereabouts of human intelligence. But in the course of his researches he makes the first scientific discoveries in the field of anatomy. The subsequent Greek theory, subscribed to even by Aristotle , is that the heart is the seat of intelligence.

Alcmaeon reasons that since a blow to the head can affect the mind, in concussion, this must be where reason lies. In dissecting corpses to pursue this idea, he observes passages linking the brain with the eyes the optic nerves and the back of the mouth with the ears Eustachian tubes.

Aristotle may be wrong about the brain being in the heart, but in general he gives a far more complete and well observed account of biology than any other Greek philosopher.

Rosalind's estimate was based essentially on a calculation of the "begats" in the bible, adding up the lifespans of the generations between Adam and Jesus. The first to appreciate the antiquity of the Earth appears to have been James Hutton, a Scottish natural philosopher.

Based on observations of uplift, sedimentation and erosion, his Theory of the Earth , published in , concluded that the age of the earth was essentially infinite with "no vestige of a beginning—and no prospect of an end. Nevertheless, Charles Lyell extended and popularized his work with the publication of his own Principles of Geology in He maintained that the measurement of processes like erosion in the present era could be extended backwards to give some idea of the time required to create great geological features like river gorges.

From the lack of fossil remains in older strata, Lyell concluded that man was of recent origin on the Earth. Darwin carried a copy of Lyell with him on his famous voyage on the Beagle. With the expanded time horizon afforded by geology, Darwin was able to see how various species might arise by natural selection from a common precursor.

Although there are only four unifying principles, biology covers a broad range of topics that are broken into many disciplines and subdisciplines. On a high level, the different fields of biology can each be thought of as the study of one type of organism, according to " Blackie's Dictionary of Biology " S Chand, For example, zoology is the study of animals, botany is the study of plants and microbiology is the study of microorganisms.

Related: Plant photos: Amazing botanical shots by Karl Blossfeldt. Within those broader fields, many biologists specialize in researching a specific topic or problem. For example, a scientist may study behavior of a certain fish species, while another scientist may research the neurological and chemical mechanisms behind the behavior.