Biology

BIOLOGY

Before you start

1.1 Answer the following questions:

1. What is biology?

2. How is modern biology different from ancient biology?

3. What do you know about the Biology faculty at Rostov State University?

4. What classificatory systems do you know?

Pronunciation

2.1 Read and practise the pronunciation of the following words:

anatomy [«ÛnQt«mI]	anthropology [,QnTR«Ûpl«dZI]
antibiotics [ ÛQntIbaI ۍtIks]	bacterium [bQk ÛtI«rI«m]
bacteria [bQk ÛtIrI«]	biochemistry [ÛbAI«ÛkemIstrI]
biology [bAI ۍl«dZI]	botany [Ûbt«nI]
consumption [k«n ÛsÃmpS(«)n]	cytology [saI Ûtl«dZI]
enzyme [ ÛenzaIm]	genetics [dZI ÛnetIks]
genus [ ÛdZi:n«s]	mammal [ÛmQm(«)l]
hormone [ Ûhm«un]	microbiology[ÛmaIkr«UbaI ۍl«dZi]
molecular biology [m«u Ûlekjul«(r) baI ۍl«dZI]	phenomenon [fI ÛnmIn«n]
phylum [ÛfAIl«m]	phenomena [fI ÛnmIn«]
psychology [saI Ûkl«dZI]	protein [Ûpr«Uti:n]
reptile [ÛreptaIl]	subdivision [ÛsÃbdI,vIZ(«)n]
species [ Ûspi:Si:z]	vital [vaItl]
Aristotle [«rIs Ût:tl]	Linneus [ÛlI:n«s]

Reading

3.1 Read the text to know more about biology.

Biology

Biology may be defined as the science about life and how to sustain it on the planet Earth. The word biology is derived from the Greek words “bios” (“life”) and “logos” (“word” or “science”). Biology deals with all kinds of living things and living systems. In studying them we learn the relations of plants and animals to one another and to the world around them, we also learn some of the great fundamental laws and processes of nature.

Biology is a very old science and it is closely bound with other natural sciences such as physics, chemistry, geology, anthropology, psychology, agriculture, medicine and others. Biology is entitled to be called the most vital of the sciences.

The phenomena of life are very numerous and very different. Great attention has always been paid to the classification of living systems. Attempts to arrange them in a single classification have been made since ancient times. Aristotle was one of the first who made such attempts. Later taxonomists such as John Ray and Carl Linneus built classificatory systems of living organisms.

All the known animal species were grouped into five classes: mammals, birds, reptiles, fishes and worms. Carl Linneus is considered to be the founder of taxonomy, the study of classification. His system of classification was founded on the concept of a basic natural grouping of like individuals, called a species. Nowadays all related organisms are grouped as follows: 1) Phylum (or division in the plant kindom); 2) Class; 3) Order; 4) Family; 5) Genus; 6) Species.

Up to the present time more than 840.000 kinds of animals and 345.000 kinds of plants have been named, described and classified.

Modern biology is a very broad science which has a lot of subdivisions. But there are two principle divisions in it: botany which deals with plants and zoology which deals with animals. Besides, there are a lot of other subdivisions in biology: citology deals with cells, protozoology - with bacteria, ornithology - with birds, entymology - with insects, ichthyology - with fish, etc. Physiology is the study of function and process, ecology is the study of environmental factors and how organisms interact with them, biochemistry deals with chemistry of living system and studies chemical constituents and chemical changes in an organism. One of the vital biological sciences is genetics which deals with the nature of genes and how different traits are inherited. There are some comparatively new branches of biology: biochemistry, biophysics, molecular biology, gene engineering, space biology, genetics, microbiology, etc.

Biologists have made a great contribution to science. They have increased our food supply, they have developed new and better varieties of plants and animals. They have done a great deal in the field of selection, in irradicating many serious diseases, in discovering important principles in the activity of the brain and in the higher nervous activity. They have obtained various physiologically active substances: enzymes, vitamins, hormones, antibiotics, amino-acids and proteins for human and animal comsumption.

The Biology faculty is one of the largest and oldest in Rostov State University. It was founded in 1934. There are 7 departments at this faculty: the department of botany, zoology, biochemistry and microbiology, physiology of man and animal, genetics, environmental science or ecology and the department of soil science and agrochemistry.

In these departments students students get training in all branches of biology. They are given lectures in various subjects of natural science, namely botany, zoology, anatomy, microbiology, biophysics, biochemistry, genetics and so on. They have every opportunity to master their speciality and do reseach under the supervision of highly qualified teachers and researches. In the third year they choose a branch of biology to major in.

In the Biology faculty there are several museums and laboratories and two centres for practical training – Nedvigovka agricultural research centre and the Nikel field work centre and a botanical garden.

Graduates of Biology faculty work in research institutes, laboratories and schools.

(Adapted from the Internet sites)

3.2 What new facts about biology have you learnt from the text?

Дата добавления: 2015-08-03