Biology (from Greek. bios - life, logos - science) - the science of life, about the general laws of existence and development of living beings. The subject of its study is living organisms, their structure, growth, functions, development, relationships with the environment and origin. Like physics and chemistry, it belongs to the natural sciences, the subject of study of which is nature.

Biology is one of the oldest natural sciences, although the term “biology” to denote it was first proposed only in 1797 by the German professor of anatomy Theodor Ruz (1771-1803), after which this term was used in 1800 by a professor at the University of Dorpat (now Tartu ) K. Burdakh (1776-1847), and in 1802

J.B. Lamarck (1744-1829) and L. Treviranus (1779-1864).

Biology, like other sciences, arose and has always developed in connection with the material conditions of society, the development of social production, medicine, and the practical needs of people.

In our time, it is characterized by an exceptionally wide range of fundamental problems being developed, starting with studies of elementary cellular structures and reactions occurring in cells, and ending with the knowledge of processes unfolding and developing at the global (biosphere) level. In a relatively short historical period, fundamentally new research methods were developed, molecular basis structure and activity of cells, the genetic role of nucleic acids has been established, deciphered genetic code and the theory of genetic information was formulated, new justifications for the theory of evolution appeared, and new biological sciences emerged. The newest revolutionary stage in the development of biology is the creation of the methodology of genetic engineering, which has opened up fundamentally new opportunities for penetrating into the depths of biological processes in order to further characterize living matter.

STAGES OF BIOLOGY DEVELOPMENT

Man began to collect the very first information about living beings, probably from the time when he realized his difference from the world around him. Already in the literary monuments of the Egyptians, Babylonians, Indians and other peoples there is information about the structure of many plants and animals, about the application of this knowledge in medicine and agriculture. In the XIV century. BC e. many cuneiform tablets found in Mesopotamia contained information about animals and plants, about the systematization of animals by dividing them into carnivores and herbivores, and plants into trees, vegetables, medicinal herbs, etc. In medical writings created in IV-I centuries BC e. in India, contains ideas about heredity as the reason for the similarity of parents and children, and the monuments “Mahabharata” and “Ramayana” describe a number of features of the life of many animals and plants.

During the period of the slave system, the Ionian, Athenian, Alexandrian and Roman schools emerged in the study of animals and plants.

The Ionian school originated in Ionia (VII-IV centuries BC). Not believing in the supernatural origin of life, the philosophers of this school recognized the causality of phenomena, the movement of life along a certain path, and the accessibility to study of the “natural law” that, according to them, governs the world. In particular, Alcmaeon (late 6th - early 5th century BC) described the optic nerve and the development of the chick embryo, recognized the brain as the center of sensations and thinking, and Hippocrates (460-370 BC) gave the first is relative detailed description structure of humans and animals, pointed out the role of environment and heredity in the occurrence of diseases.

The Athenian school developed in Athens. The most outstanding representative of this school, Aristotle (384-322 BC), created four biological treatises, which contained comprehensive information about animals. Aristotle divided the surrounding world into four kingdoms (the inanimate world of earth, water and air, the plant world, the animal world and the human world), between which a sequence was established. Later this sequence turned into the “staircase of creatures” (XVIII century). Aristotle probably belonged to the very first classification of animals, which he divided into four-legged, flying, feathered and fish. He combined cetaceans with land animals,

but not with fish, which he classified into bony and cartilaginous. Aristotle knew the basic characteristics of mammals. He gave a description of the external and internal organs of humans, sexual differences in animals, their methods of reproduction and lifestyle, the origin of sex, the inheritance of individual characteristics, deformities, multiple births, etc. Aristotle is considered the founder of zoology. Another representative of this school, Theophrastus (372-287 BC), left information about the structure and reproduction of many plants, the differences between monocotyledons and dicotyledons, and introduced the terms “fruit”, “pericarp”, “ core". He is considered the founder of botany.

The Alexandrian school entered the history of biology thanks to scientists who were mainly engaged in the study of anatomy. Herophilus (the heyday of creativity in the 300s BC) left information on the comparative anatomy of humans and animals, was the first to point out the differences between arteries and veins, and Erasistratus (about 250 BC) described the cerebral hemispheres brain, its cerebellum and convolutions.

The Roman school did not provide independent developments in the study of living organisms, limiting itself to collecting information obtained by the Greeks. Pliny the Elder (23-79) - author of Natural History in 37 books, which also contained information about animals and plants. Dioscorides (1st century AD) left a description of about 600 plant species, drawing attention to their healing properties. Claudius Galen (130-200) extensively performed autopsies on mammals (cattle and small cattle, pigs, dogs, bears, etc.), and was the first to give a comparative anatomical description of humans and monkeys. He was the last great biologist of antiquity, who had an exceptionally great influence on anatomy and physiology.

In the Middle Ages, the dominant ideology was religion. According to the figurative expression of the classic, science in those days turned into the “handmaiden of theology.” Biological knowledge, based on the descriptions of Aristotle, Pliny, Galen, was reflected mainly in the encyclopedia of Albertus Magnus (1206-1280). In Rus', information about animals and plants was summarized in the “Teachings of Vladimir Monomakh” (11th century). The outstanding scientist and thinker of the Middle Ages, Abu Ali Ibn Sina (980-1037), known in Europe under the name of Avicenna, developed views on the eternity and uncreated nature of the world, and recognized causal patterns in nature.

During this period, biology had not yet emerged as an independent science, but was separated from the perception of the world on the basis of distorted religious and philosophical views.

The beginnings of biology, like all natural sciences, are associated with the Renaissance. During this period, the collapse of feudal society and the destruction of the dictatorship of the church occurred. As Engels noted, real “natural science begins in the second half of the 15th century, and since that time it has continuously made increasingly rapid progress.” For example, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) discovered the homology of organs, described many plants, birds in flight, the thyroid gland, the way bones are connected by joints, the activity of the heart and the visual function of the eye, and noted the similarity of human and animal bones. Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564) created the anatomical work “Seven Books on the Structure of the Human Body,” which laid the foundations of scientific anatomy. V. Harvey (1578-1657) discovered blood circulation, and D. Borely (1608-1679) described the mechanism of animal movement, which laid the scientific foundations of physiology. Since that time, anatomy and physiology have developed together for many decades.

The extremely rapid accumulation of scientific data about living organisms led to the differentiation of biological knowledge, to the division of biology into separate sciences. In the XVI-XVII centuries. Botany began to develop rapidly with the invention of the microscope ( beginning of XVII c.) microscopic anatomy of plants arose, the foundations of plant physiology were laid. From the 16th century Zoology began to develop faster. Big influence it was subsequently influenced by the system of classification of animals created by C. Linnaeus (1707-1778). Having introduced four-member taxonomic divisions (class - order - genus - species), C. Linnaeus divided animals into six classes (mammals, birds, amphibians, fish, insects, worms). He classified humans and apes as primates. The German scientist G. Leibniz (1646-1716), who developed the doctrine of the “ladder of beings,” had a significant influence on the biology of that time.

In the XVIII-XIX centuries. the scientific foundations of embryology are being laid - K.F. Wolf (1734-1794), K.M. Baer (1792-1876). In 1839, T. Schwann and M. Schleiden formulated the cell theory.

In 1859, Charles Darwin (1809-1882) published “The Origin of Species.” This work formulated the theory of evolution.

In the first half of the 19th century. bacteriology arises, which, thanks to the works of L. Pastra, R. Koch, D. Lister and I.I. Mechnikov

In 1865, the work of G. Mendel (1822-1884) “Experiment on plant hybrids” was published, in which the existence of genes was substantiated and patterns were formulated, currently known as the laws of heredity. After the rediscovery of laws in the 20th century. genetics is established as an independent science.

Back in the first half of the 19th century. ideas arose about the use of physics and chemistry to study the phenomena of life (G. Devi, Yu. Liebig). The implementation of these ideas led to the fact that in the middle of the 19th century. physiology became isolated from anatomy, and the physicochemical direction took a leading place in it. At the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. modern biological chemistry was formed. In the first half of the 20th century. Biological physics is established as an independent science.

The most important milestone in the development of biology in the 20th century. began in the 40-50s, when ideas and methods of physics and chemistry poured into biology, and microorganisms began to be used as objects. In 1944, the genetic role of DNA was discovered, in 1953 its structure was elucidated, and in 1961 the genetic code was deciphered. With the discovery of the genetic role of DNA and the mechanisms of protein synthesis from genetics and biochemistry, molecular biology and molecular genetics emerged, which are often called physicochemical biology, the main subject of study of which was the structure and function of nucleic acids (genes) and proteins. The emergence of these sciences meant a giant step in the study of life phenomena at the molecular level of organization of living matter.

On April 12, 1961, for the first time in history, a man ascended into space. This first cosmonaut was a citizen of the USSR, Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin. In the Soviet Union, this day became Cosmonautics Day, and in the world - World Aviation and Cosmonautics Day. But we can say that this day is the day of space biology, the birthplace of which is rightfully the Soviet Union.

In the 1970s The first works on genetic engineering appeared, which raised biotechnology to a new level and opened up new prospects for medicine.

Biology is a complex science, which became such as a result of differentiation and integration of different biological sciences.

The process of differentiation began with the division of zoology, botany and microbiology into a number of independent sciences. Within zoology, vertebrate and invertebrate zoology, protozoology, helminthology, arachnoentomology, ichthyology, ornithology, etc. arose. In botany, mycology, algology, bryology and other disciplines emerged. Microbiology was divided into bacteriology, virology and immunology. Simultaneously with differentiation, there was a process of emergence and formation of new sciences, which were divided into narrower sciences. For example, genetics, having emerged as an independent science, was divided into general and molecular, into the genetics of plants, animals and microorganisms. At the same time, genetics of sex, genetics of behavior, population genetics, evolutionary genetics, etc. appeared. Comparative and evolutionary physiology, endocrinology and other physiological sciences arose in the depths of physiology. In recent years, there has been a tendency to formulate narrow sciences that are named after the problem (object) of research. Such sciences are enzymology, membranology, karyology, plasmidology, etc.

As a result of the integration of sciences, biochemistry, biophysics, radiobiology, cytogenetics, space biology and other sciences emerged.

The leading position in the modern complex of biological sciences is occupied by physical and chemical biology, the latest data of which make a significant contribution to the understanding of the scientific picture of the world, to the further justification of the material unity of the world. Continuing to reflect the living world and man as part of this world, deeply developing cognitive ideas and improving as the theoretical basis of medicine, biology has acquired exclusively great importance in scientific and technological progress, has become a productive force.

RESEARCH METHODS

New theoretical ideas and the advancement of biological knowledge forward have always been and are determined by the creation and use of new research methods.

The main methods used in biological sciences are descriptive, comparative, historical and experimental.

The descriptive method is the oldest and consists of collecting factual material and describing it. Having emerged at the very beginning of biological knowledge, this method for a long time remained the only one in the study of the structure and properties of organisms. Therefore, old biology was associated with a simple reflection of the living world in the form of a description of plants and animals, that is, it was essentially a descriptive science. The use of this method made it possible to lay the foundations of biological knowledge. It is enough to recall how successful this method turned out to be in the taxonomy of organisms.

The descriptive method is still widely used today. The study of cells using a light or electron microscope and the description of the microscopic or submicroscopic features revealed in their structure is one example of the use of the descriptive method at the present time.

The comparative method consists of comparing the studied organisms, their structures and functions with each other in order to identify similarities and differences. This method was established in biology in the 18th century. and has proven to be very fruitful in solving many major problems. Using this method and in combination with the descriptive method, information was obtained that made it possible in the 18th century. lay the foundations for the taxonomy of plants and animals (C. Linnaeus), and in the 19th century. formulate the cell theory (M. Schleiden and T. Schwann) and the doctrine of the main types of development (K. Baer). The method was widely used in the 19th century. in substantiating the theory of evolution, as well as in restructuring a number of biological sciences on the basis of this theory. However, the use of this method was not accompanied by biology moving beyond the boundaries of descriptive science.

The comparative method is widely used in various biological sciences in our time. Comparison acquires special value when it is impossible to define a concept. For example, an electron microscope often produces images whose true content is unknown in advance. Only comparing them with light microscopic images allows one to obtain the desired data.

In the second half of the 19th century. thanks to Charles Darwin, biology includes the historical method, which made it possible to put on a scientific basis the study of the patterns of the appearance and development of organisms, the formation of the structure and functions of organisms in time and space. With the introduction of this method into biology, immediately

significant qualitative changes have occurred. The historical method transformed biology from a purely descriptive science into a science that explains how diverse living systems arose and how they function. Thanks to this method, biology rose several steps higher at once. At present, the historical method has essentially gone beyond the scope of the research method. It has become a universal approach to the study of life phenomena in all biological sciences.

The experimental method consists of actively studying a particular phenomenon through experiment. It should be noted that the question of the experimental study of nature as a new principle of natural scientific knowledge, that is, the question of experiment as one of the foundations in the knowledge of nature, was raised back in the 17th century. English philosopher F. Bacon (1561-1626). His introduction to biology is associated with the works of V. Harvey in the 17th century. on the study of blood circulation. However, the experimental method became widespread in biology only in early XIX c., and through physiology, in which they began to use a large number of instrumental techniques that made it possible to register and quantitatively characterize the association of functions with structure. Thanks to the works of F. Magendie (1783-1855), G. Helmholtz (1821-1894), I.M. Sechenov (1829-1905), as well as the classics of the experiment C. Bernard (1813-1878) and I.P. Pavlova (1849-1936) physiology was probably the first of the biological sciences to become an experimental science.

Another direction in which the experimental method entered biology was the study of heredity and variability of organisms. Here the main merit belongs to G. Mendel, who, unlike his predecessors, used experiment not only to obtain data about the phenomena being studied, but also to test the hypothesis formulated on the basis of the data obtained. The work of G. Mendel was a classic example of the methodology of experimental science.

In justification experimental method important had work carried out in microbiology by L. Pasteur (1822-1895), who first introduced an experiment to study fermentation and refute the theory of spontaneous generation of microorganisms, and then to develop vaccination against infectious diseases. In the second half of the 19th century. following L. Pasteur, a significant contribution to the development and substantiation of the experimental method in microbio-

logy was contributed by R. Koch (1843-1910), D. Lister (1827-1912), I.I. Mechnikov (1845-1916), D.I. Ivanovsky (1864-1920), S.N. Vinogradsky (1856-1890), M. Beyernik (1851-1931), etc. In the 19th century. biology has also been enriched by the creation methodological foundations modeling, which is also highest form experiment. The invention by L. Pasteur, R. Koch and other microbiologists of methods for infecting laboratory animals with pathogenic microorganisms and studying the pathogenesis of infectious diseases on them is a classic example of modeling that carried over into the 20th century. and supplemented in our time by modeling not only various diseases, but also various life processes, including the origin of life.

Starting, for example, from the 40s. XX century The experimental method in biology has undergone significant improvements due to an increase in the resolution of many biological techniques and the development of new experimental techniques. Thus, the resolution of genetic analysis and a number of immunological techniques was increased. Cultivation of somatic cells, isolation of biochemical mutants of microorganisms and somatic cells, etc. were introduced into research practice. The experimental method began to be widely enriched with methods of physics and chemistry, which turned out to be extremely valuable not only as independent methods, but also in combination with biological methods. For example, the structure and genetic role of DNA have been elucidated through the combined use of chemical methods DNA extraction, chemical and physical methods determination of its primary and secondary structure and biological methods (transformation and genetic analysis of bacteria), evidence of its role as genetic material.

Currently, the experimental method is characterized by exceptional capabilities in the study of life phenomena. These capabilities are determined by the use of microscopy different types, including electronic with the technique of ultrathin sections, biochemical methods, high-resolution genetic analysis, immunological methods, various methods of cultivation and intravital observation in cultures of cells, tissues and organs, labeling of embryos, in vitro fertilization, the labeled atom method, X-ray diffraction analysis, ultracentrifugation, spectrophotometry, chromatography, electrophoresis, sequencing, design of biologically active recombinant molecules

cool DNA, etc. The new quality inherent in the experimental method caused qualitative changes in modeling. Along with modeling at the organ level, modeling at the molecular and cellular levels is currently being developed.

Assessing the methodology for studying nature in the 15th-19th centuries, F. Engels noted that “the decomposition of nature into its specific parts, the division of various processes and objects of nature into certain classes, the study of the internal structure of organic bodies according to their diverse anatomical forms - all this was fundamental a condition for the gigantic successes that have been achieved in the field of knowledge of nature over the past four hundred years.” The “separation” methodology carried over into the 20th century. However, there have been undoubted changes in approaches to the study of life. The new inherent in the experimental method and its technical equipment also determined new approaches to the study of life phenomena. Advancement of biological sciences in the 20th century. was largely determined not only by the experimental method, but also systemic-structural an approach to the study of the organization and functions of living organisms, analysis and synthesis of data on the structure and functions of the objects under study. The experimental method in modern equipment and in combination with a systemic-structural approach has radically transformed biology, expanded its cognitive capabilities, and further connected it with medicine and production.

BIOLOGY - THEORETICAL BASIS OF MEDICINE

The connections between biological knowledge and medicine go back a long way and date back to the same time as the emergence of biology itself. Many outstanding physicians of the past were also outstanding biologists (Hippocrates, Herophilus, Erasistratus, Galen, Avicenna, Malpighi, etc.). Then and later, biology began to serve medicine by “delivering” information about the structure of the body. However, the role of biology as the theoretical basis of medicine in the modern understanding began to take shape only in the 19th century.

Creation in the 19th century cell theory laid the truly scientific foundations for the connection between biology and medicine. In 1858, R. Virchow (1821-1902) published “Cellular Pathology”, in which he formulated

The position on the connection of the pathological process with cells, with changes in the structure of the latter, has been outlined. By combining cell theory with pathology, R. Virchow directly “brought” biology under medicine as a theoretical basis. Significant achievements in strengthening the ties between biology and medicine in the 19th century. and the beginning of the 20th century. belong to K. Bernard and I.P. Pavlova, who revealed and generally biological basis physiology and pathology, L. Pasteur, R. Koch, D.I. Ivanovsky and their followers, who created the doctrine of infectious pathology, on the basis of which ideas about asepsis and antiseptics arose, which led to the acceleration of the development of surgery. Studying the processes of digestion in lower multicellular animals, I.I. Mechnikov laid the biological foundations of the doctrine of immunity, which is of great importance in medicine. Genetics makes a significant contribution to strengthening the connections between biology and medicine. Investigating the biochemical manifestations of the action of genes in humans, the English physician A. Garrod in 1902 reported “congenital defects of metabolism,” which marked the beginning of the study of human hereditary pathology.

BIOLOGY AND PRODUCTION

For the first time, practice began to formulate its orders for biology with the introduction of the experimental method into this science. At that time, biology influenced practice indirectly, through medicine. The direct influence on material production began with the creation of biotechnology in those areas of industry that are based on the biosynthetic activity of microorganisms. For a long time now, microbiological synthesis of many organic acids has been carried out under industrial conditions, which are used

are used in the food and medical industries and medicine. In the 40-50s. XX century an industry was created for the production of antibiotics, and in the early 60s. XX century - for the purpose of producing amino acids. The production of enzymes plays an important role in the microbiological industry. The microbiological industry now produces vitamins and other substances needed in the national economy and medicine in large quantities. The industrial production of substances with pharmacological properties from steroid raw materials of plant origin is based on the transforming ability of microorganisms.

Greatest achievements in production various substances, including medicinal ones (insulin, somatostatin, interferon, etc.), are associated with genetic engineering, which now forms the basis of biotechnology. Genetic engineering has a significant impact on food production, the search for new energy sources, and conservation environment. Development of biotechnology, theoretical basis which is biology, and methodological - genetic engineering, is a new stage in the development of material production. The emergence of this technology is one of the moments of the latest revolution in the productive forces (A.A. Baev).

Have you ever thought about life and death? Probably everyone thinking person sooner or later it does. Biologists think about life more often than others, because biology is the science of life, and therefore of death. This lesson will focus on the development of biology. You will become acquainted with the achievements of this complex science and the scientists who contributed huge contribution in its development over the past two and a half thousand years. Short review history of biology includes the works of Hippocrates, Aristotle, Theophrastus, Leonardo da Vinci, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, Karl Maksimovich Baer, ​​Jean Baptiste Lamarck and the great Charles Darwin, author of the basic theory modern biology- theories of evolution.

Rice. 1. 1. Representatives of the kingdom Archaebacteria, discovered in the twentieth century ()

Evolutionary biology studies the origin of living organisms. In the nineteenth century, the author of the theory of evolution, Charles Darwin (Fig. 2), began his work as a scientific naturalist: he traveled and collected collections of animals and plants. The result of his work was the creation of the theory of evolution.

In the twentieth century, the combination of the ideas of genetics and the theory of evolution (Darwinism) led to the emergence synthetic theory evolution. It is based on the works and ideas of Charles Darwin.

Rice. 2. Charles Darwin

Physico-chemical biology studies the structure of living objects using physical and chemical methods. This is a fast-growing trend that appeared at the end of the twentieth century. It includes two main directions: biochemistry and biophysics, which study the chemistry and physics of life, respectively.

Thus, we examined the main directions of biology.

Let's now talk about scientists who played a significant role in the development of biology.

(Fig. 3) gave the first detailed description of the structure of the human and animal body, pointed out the role of the environment and heredity in the development of diseases, he is called the founder, or “father” of medicine.

Rice. 3. Hippocrates

(Fig. 4) was the first to systematize natural objects and divide them into 4 kingdoms:

1. The inanimate world of water, earth and air.

2. Plants

3. Animals

Rice. 4. Aristotle

(Fig. 5) - studied plants, he described more than 500 new plant species, and provided information about the structure and reproduction of many of them. Wrote a treatise on psychology. He is called the founder, or “father” of botany.

Rice. 5. Theophrastus

Leonardo da Vinci was the brightest representative of the Renaissance. He studied the flight of birds, the growth of plants, the way bones are connected in joints, the functioning of the heart and the visual function of the eye, and also drew attention to the similarity of human and animal bones (Fig. 6).

Rice. 6. Drawings by Leonardo da Vinci (XV century)

Anthony van Leeuwenhoek(Fig. 7) in the seventeenth century discovered microorganisms using a microscope.

Rice. 7. A. van Leeuwenhoek

Carl Linnaeus(Fig. 8) proposed in the 18th century the most successful classification of living organisms. In the sixteenth century, thanks to the Great geographical discoveries, many foreign animals and plants poured into Europe. There was a need to classify living organisms. Linnaeus' system was considered the most successful, and we still use many of its elements (binary names).

Rice. 8. C. Linnaeus

Since the mid-nineteenth century, biology began to develop rapidly thanks to new ideas (evolutionism) and research methods (microscopy, biochemistry), and this development continues to this day.

Karl Maksimovich Baer(Fig. 9) formulated the basic principles of the theory of homologous organs and the laws of germinal similarity, which laid the scientific foundations of embryology.

Rice. 9. K. Baer

In 1808, in his work “Philosophy of Zoology,” Jean Baptiste Lamarck (Fig. 10) raised the question of the causes and mechanisms of evolutionary transformations and outlined the first theory of evolution of the organic world.

Rice. 10. J.-B. Lamarck

Zoologist Theodor Schwann and a botanist Matthias Schleiden(Fig. 11) was the proposed cellular theory, which scientifically confirmed the unity of the living world and served as one of the prerequisites for the creation of the theory of evolution by Charles Darwin.

Rice. 11. T. Schwann and M. Schleiden

Charles Darwin based on numerous observations, he created and published a work on the origin of species by natural selection, in which he formulated the main ideas of the theory of evolution, proposed possible mechanisms of evolution and described the paths of evolutionary transformations of organisms.

At the end of the nineteenth century, microbiology emerged as an independent science thanks to the work of Louis Pasteur, Robert Koch, Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov.

Rice. 11. L. Pasteur, I. Mechnikov, P. Ehrlich

In addition, work Ilya Mechnikov, Louis Pasteur and Paul Erich(Fig. 11) served as the beginning for the formation of a new discipline - immunology.

The twentieth century began with the rediscovery of the laws of inheritance of traits (laws Mendel), which marked the emergence of the science of genetics. In the 40-50s of the twentieth century, ideas from chemistry and physics began to penetrate biology, which significantly enriched it. In the mid-twentieth century, thanks to the discovery of the structure of the DNA molecule (Fig. 12), biology reached a new molecular level.

Rice. 12. DNA structure

In the twentieth century, a new applied direction in biology took shape - biotechnology. If we talk about the prospects for the development of this area, then, according to scientists’ forecasts, it will develop rapidly in the 21st century.

Anthony van Leeuwenhoek

In the seventeenth century, there lived a cloth merchant in Holland, whose name was Anthony van Leeuwenhoek, he had a hobby - he polished lenses, his biconvex lenses gave a magnification of 200-270 times.

Rice. 13. Microscope by A. van Leeuwenhoek

Using magnifying glasses and a microscope he designed (Fig. 13), he examined various objects: biological fluids, hair, skin, insects.

Rice. 14. Drawings by A. van Leeuwenhoek - objects seen under a microscope

As the legend goes, one day he decided to use his magnifying glasses to look at a drop of rainwater. There he saw great amount the smallest organisms. He began to look at other liquids, where he observed a similar picture - many tiny organisms, he called them “little animals” or “animals” (Fig. 14).

The first microorganisms discovered by van Leeuwenhoek were ciliates; he later saw bacteria, which he found in dental plaque.

The bacteria had different morphologies: they were convoluted forms, cocci, streptococci. In addition to the fact that Leeuwenhoek described the red blood cells of humans and fish, the movement of blood in the capillaries.

Carl Linnaeus

Rice. 15. C. Linnaeus

Carl Linnaeus (Fig. 15) is a Swedish natural scientist, who is valued in Sweden as a local historian and traveler who discovered their own country for the Swedes, studied the uniqueness of its provinces and saw how one province can help another.

The value for Swedes is not only his work on the flora and fauna of Sweden, but also his description of his own travels. These diary entries, full of specifics, rich in contrasts, presented in clear language, are still reprinted and read.

Linnaeus is one of those scientific and cultural figures whose names are associated with the formation of the modern literary Swedish language. And for biologists, Carl Linnaeus is interesting as a classifier of living organisms - a systematic scientist. He devoted his entire life to the systematization of living and inanimate nature. The main work of K. Linnaeus is “The System of Nature”, in which he described a huge number of species of plants and animals (Fig. 16, 17).

Rice. 16. Pages of “Systems of Nature” by Carl Linnaeus

The historical significance of the work of Carl Linnaeus lies in the fact that he put forward the principle of hierarchy of systematic categories (taxa).

Rice. 17. List of Linnaeus taxa

Species are grouped into Genera, Genera into Families, Families into Orders, Orders into Classes. He was the first to identify the classes of mammals and birds, uniting humans and monkeys into the Order of Primates, noting their undoubted similarity.

Louis Pasteur

The man who laid the foundation for modern microbiology with his work was the outstanding French researcher Louis Pasteur. He discovered an oxygen-free form of life activity - the fermentation process. Before Pasteur, fermentation was considered a purely chemical process that arises due to the fact that Chemical substance- protein or enzyme - transfers its “active principle” to substrate molecules. So, as a result of alcoholic fermentation, alcohol is formed from sugar.

Pasteur showed that microorganisms play an important role in fermentation, that is, fermentation products are products of the vital activity of microorganisms.

Louis Pasteur substantiated the role of microbes as infectious agents in the development of diseases, developed a vaccination method, created vaccines against anthrax and rabies, methods of sterilization and disinfection.

Bibliography

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Homework

1. Which branch of biology is the most ancient?
2. What sciences arise at the intersection of biology and other natural sciences?
3. What areas of biology are actively developing now?
4. How it changed daily life people's discovery of microorganisms by A. van Leeuwenhoek and further development microbiology?
5. What is the significance of Charles Darwin's works?
6. What concepts did C. Linnaeus introduce into science?
7. Which of the scientists described in the lesson, in your opinion, made the greatest contribution to science and influenced our lives the most?
8. Tell your friends and family about the history of the formation and development of biology. How has the science of biology influenced the life of modern man?

1. Define the concept.
Modern biology is a set of natural sciences that study life as a special form of existence of matter.

2. Fill out the table.

The contribution of scientists to the development of biology

3. Name the scientists who made a significant contribution to the development of genetics.
G. Mendel, G. de Vries, T. Morgan, J. Watson and F. Crick.

4. Fill out the table.

Relationship between biology and other sciences

5. Explain why the development of biology is associated with the solution of many modern problems humanity. What problems do you think can be solved first by biology?
Nature conservation, prevention environmental disaster, creation biologically active substances and medicines for the treatment of fatal diseases and hereditary diseases, selection for cellular level and etc.

6. Write what the following sciences study.
Botany- plants.
Zoology– animals.
Ichthyology– fish.
Entomology – insects.
Taxonomy – diversity of living organisms.

7. What natural Sciences, components of biology, arose at the end of the 20th century?
Biotechnology, genetic engineering

8. Solve the crossword puzzle “History of Biology.”

9. Using additional sources of information, determine what is being studied:
Bryology- science of mosses.
Mycology– the science of mushrooms.
Paleobotany – the science of fossil plants.
Algology– the science of algae.

10. Make up the names of the sciences yourself:
Theriology- a branch of zoology that studies mammals;
Anatomy- science of man;
Lichenology - science that studies lichens;
Histology- a branch of morphology that studies the tissues of multicellular animals.

11. Cognitive task.
Dendrology - a branch of botany that studies woody plants. The branch of dendrology that reconstructs climatic conditions the past by tree rings is called dendroclimatology. Try to give a name scientific discipline, whose task is dating historical events And natural phenomena by analyzing wood growth rings.
Answer: Dendrochronology.

12. Before you are four blocks of data: “Name”, “Last name”, “Lifetime”, “Country”. Selecting one element from each block, fill in the rows in the table, arranging in chronological order information about the scientists who contributed to the development of biology.
Name: Andreas, Georges, Robert, Alexander, Claudius, Karl, William, Ivan, Gregor, Theodore.
Surname: Cuvier, Galen, Mendel, Vesalius, Harvey, Sechenov, Fleming, Koch, Schwann, Linnaeus.
Lifetime: II century BC e., XIX century, XVI-XVII centuries, XVIII-XIX centuries, XVI century, XIX-XX centuries, XIX century, XVIII century, XIX-XX centuries, XIX-XX centuries. Country: England, Italy, Germany, Ancient Roman Empire, Russia, Sweden, England, Germany, France, Austria.

13. Formulate and write down the main ideas of § 1.1.
Modern biology is a set of natural sciences that study life as a special form of existence of matter. Science goes back to ancient times. The following outstanding scientists played a major role in the development of biology as a science:
Aristotle, Claudius Galen, William Harvey, Carl Linnaeus, Karl Baer, ​​Jean Baptiste Lamarck, Georges Cuvier, T. Schwann and M. Schleiden, Charles Darwin, G. Mendel, I. Mechnikov and L. Pasteur, I. Pavlov, V. I. Vernadsky, J. Watson and F. Crick and many others. These great people lived in different time(from the 2nd century BC to the present day) and made discoveries important for the existence of mankind.
Today biology is a collection of sciences. It is divided into complex sciences: botany, zoology, anatomy and physiology. Then, narrower disciplines were formed, such as arachnology, ichthyology, embryology, evolution, genetics, etc. In the 20th century, biochemistry, biophysics, and biogeography arose at the border of related disciplines. At the end of the century there appeared molecular biology, biotechnology and cell, genetic engineering. The achievements of these sciences open up broad prospects for the future of humanity.
Today biology is a productive force, by the development of which one can judge general level development of humanity.

Biology is a complex science that studies all manifestations of life: the structure, functions and origin of living organisms, their relationships in natural communities with their environment and other living organisms.

Concept the science is defined as “the sphere of human activity for obtaining and systematizing objective knowledge about reality.” In accordance with this definition, the object of science - biology is life in all its manifestations and forms, as well as on different levels .

History of the formation and development of biology

The history of biology goes back many centuries. Even primitive people needed to have certain knowledge about plants and animals. As part of the general development of the natural sciences, there was also an accumulation of knowledge that now belongs to the field of biological science. In the works of ancient philosophers one can find information of a biological nature. Aristotle thought deeply about the theory of organic development, being an expert in natural science disciplines, primarily zoology, botany and related problems of elementary forms of living sensation of life processes. Hippocrates proposed the first theory to explain infectious diseases. The general flourishing of science during antiquity gave way, as is known from history, to the relatively “cool” period of the Middle Ages, which was characterized by a general decline in the natural sciences, and in biology in particular. For obvious reasons, at this stage people were familiar only with representatives of the plant and animal world. A huge impetus to the development of biology and the use of its fruits, in particular in medicine, was given by the invention in the 17th century. microscope by Dutchman A. Levenguk. Humanity has penetrated into the microworld, expanding its ideas about living things. It must be said that the very fact of the existence of microorganisms led to a change in views on the theory of spontaneous generation of life. K. Linnaeus a binary nomenclature of species was proposed - this is also important, as it made it possible to systematize the accumulated extensive, but very contradictory, factual material. Microscopic studies served as the basis for the formulation T. Schwann And M. Schleiden provisions of cell theory in the 19th century. At the turn of the 18th–19th centuries. labors J. Lamarck, A. Weisman, J. Cuvier, C. Lyell the foundations of evolutionary teaching were laid, which became the basis of modern biology. Charles DarwinV In his main work, “The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection” (1859), he summarized the empirical material of contemporary biology and breeding practice based on the results of his own observations during his travels and circumnavigation on the ship “Beagle” and revealed the main factors in the evolution of the organic world. Evolutionary theory is of great importance not only for biology, but also for all natural sciences in general, it is noteworthy that evolutionary theory existed along with thermodynamics, which describes essentially completely opposite processes. The second law of thermodynamics predicts an increasingly monotonous future for the world, dissipation and degradation of energy, and simplification of structures. Evolutionary theory, on the contrary, proclaims the possibility of the formation of the complex from the simple, an increasingly complex development. This paradox was resolved only in the 20th century. Biology came as a powerful and ramified field of scientific knowledge, differentiated into a number of subsidiary disciplines that acquired the status of full-fledged independent fields. XX century was marked by the rapid development of genetics, breeding, ecology, molecular biology and a number of other disciplines. Currently, at the intersection of biological disciplines with other fields of knowledge, new branches of science are emerging, such as space biology, etc.

2 The concept of life and living systems. Levels of life organization. Properties of living things.

What is life? One of the definitions was given by F. Engels more than 100 years ago: " Life is a way of existence of protein bodies, and this way of existence consists essentially in the constant self-renewal of the chemical components of these bodies"This definition includes two important provisions:

life is closely related to proteins

an indispensable condition of life - constant metabolism, with the cessation of which life also ceases.

The study of the properties of objects of living nature has shown that life is associated with the complex colloidal state of the protoplast (cell contents), which is characterized by metabolism and energy due to the implementation of hereditary information contained in nucleic acids. Living systems from cells to the biosphere as a whole are systems that assimilate energy from the external environment in such a way that they can actively resist the destruction of the existing organization, i.e. resist the process characteristic of all bodies of inorganic nature. According to modern ideas, life is a way of existence of open colloidal systems that have the properties of self-regulation, reproduction and development based on the geochemical interaction of proteins, nucleic acids of other compounds due to the transformation of substances and energy from the external environment. Living systems have a number of general properties and characteristics that distinguish them from inanimate nature.

Molecular level of organization - this is the level of functioning of biological macromolecules - biopolymers: nucleic acids, proteins, polysaccharides, lipids, steroids. From this level, the most important life processes begin: metabolism, energy conversion, transmission hereditary information. This level is studied: biochemistry, molecular genetics, molecular biology, genetics, biophysics.

Cellular level- this is the level of cells (cells of bacteria, cyanobacteria, unicellular animals and algae, unicellular fungi, cells of multicellular organisms). The cell is structural unit living, functional unit, unit of development. This level is studied by cytology, cytochemistry, cytogenetics, and microbiology.

Tissue level of organization- this is the level at which the structure and functioning of tissues is studied. This level is studied by histology and histochemistry.

Organ level of organization- This is the level of organs of multicellular organisms. Anatomy, physiology, and embryology study this level.

Organismic level of organization- this is the level of unicellular, colonial and multicellular organisms. The specificity of the organismal level is that at this level the decoding and implementation of genetic information occurs, the formation of characteristics inherent in individuals of a given species. This level is studied by morphology (anatomy and embryology), physiology, genetics, and paleontology.

Population-species level- this is the level of aggregates of individuals - populations And species. This level is studied by systematics, taxonomy, ecology, biogeography, population genetics. At this level, genetic and ecological features of populations, elementary evolutionary factors and their impact on the gene pool (microevolution), the problem of species conservation.

Ecosystem level of organization- this is the level of microecosystems, mesoecosystems, macroecosystems. At this level, types of nutrition, types of relationships between organisms and populations in the ecosystem are studied, population size, population dynamics, population density, ecosystem productivity, succession. This level studies ecology.

Also distinguished biosphere level of organization living matter. The biosphere is a gigantic ecosystem that occupies part of the geographical envelope of the Earth. This is a mega ecosystem. In the biosphere there is a cycle of substances and chemical elements, as well as the conversion of solar energy.

Signs of living things: 1. Exchange of matter and energy 2. Metabolism is a special way of interaction of living organisms with the environment 3. Metabolism requires a constant influx of certain substances and energy from the outside and the release of some dissimilation products into the external environment. The body is an open system 4. Irritability is the transfer of information from the external environment to the body; on the basis of irritability Self-regulation and homeostasis are carried out 5. Reproduction - reproduction of one's own kind 6. Heredity - the flow of information between generations, resulting in continuity 7. Variability - the appearance of new characteristics in the process of reproduction; basis of evolution 8. Ontogenesis – individual development, implementation of an individual program 9. Phylogeny – historical development, evolutionary development is carried out as a result of hereditary variability, natural selection and the struggle for existence 10. Organisms are included in the process of evolution

3 Diversity of living organisms, their classification.

Taxonomy is a science that establishes relationships between living organisms and develops a system for their classification.

Taxa (systematic units):

Plants Animals

Kingdom Kingdom

Department Type

Class Class

Order Squad

Family Family

The name of the species consists of two words: the Name of the Genus and the Species Epithet.

Carl Linnaeus suggested calling living organisms this way. This is a binary nomenclature.