Biology studies living systems: how biological cells maintain themselves, how organisms develop and reproduce, and how evolution generates diversity. Its scales connect molecules, genes, biological cells, organisms and the interactions studied by ecology. These are complementary viewpoints: a protein's chemistry can explain a cellular mechanism, while evolution explains why inherited variants of that mechanism persist. See Clark, Douglas and Choi, Biology 2e: the science of biology.
Two organizing ideas make this immense subject navigable: shared cellular organization and descent with inherited modification. A neuron and a gliding bacterium differ dramatically in shape and behavior, yet both depend on a cell membrane and metabolism. Their differences become intelligible through specialization and evolution.
Keep observations separate from the mathematical models used to explain them. A measured membrane potential is evidence; an idealized two-state ion-channel gating equation proposes a mechanism. A mathematical model earns trust through predictions and comparisons with measurements. Its assumptions delimit its usefulness, and disagreement can reveal missing biology rather than a faulty measurement.
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Portrait of Ethan C. Garner
. External portrait hosted by Harvard University, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology. Source.
Portrait of Shu-ou Shan
. External portrait hosted by California Institute of Technology, Shan Laboratory. Source.
Portrait of Ahmet Yıldız
. External portrait hosted by University of California, Berkeley. Source.
Portrait of Stefan Hell
. Bernd Schuller, Max-Planck-Institut für biophysikalische Chemie. CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Source.
Portrait of Winfried Denk
. External portrait hosted by Max-Planck-Gesellschaft. Source._(cropped).jpg?width=260)
Portrait of Robert Trivers
. Lois Nelson. Public domain in the United States (published without copyright notice, 1978–1989). Source usage terms, via Wikimedia Commons. Source.
Portrait of Robert Axelrod (political scientist)
. Ford School. CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Source.
Portrait of Paul B. Rainey
. External portrait hosted by Max-Planck-Gesellschaft. Source. Articles were limited to the first 100 out of 7807 total.
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