Editing Natural science (section)

===Biology===
{{Main|Biology|Outline of biology#Branches of biology}}
[[File:Wilson1900Fig2.jpg|thumb|Onion (''[[Allium]]'') cells in different phases of the cell cycle. Growth in an '[[organism]]' is carefully controlled by regulating the cell cycle.]]
This field encompasses a diverse set of disciplines that examine phenomena related to living organisms. The scale of study can range from sub-component [[biophysics]] up to complex [[ecology|ecologies]]. Biology is concerned with the characteristics, [[scientific classification|classification]] and [[behaviors]] of [[organism]]s, as well as how [[species]] were formed and their interactions with each other and the [[environment (biophysical)|environment]].

The biological fields of [[botany]], [[zoology]], and [[medicine]] date back to early periods of civilization, while [[microbiology]] was introduced in the 17th century with the invention of the microscope. However, it was not until the 19th century that biology became a unified science. Once scientists discovered commonalities between all living things, it was decided they were best studied as a whole.

Some key developments in biology were the discovery of [[genetics]], [[evolution]] through [[natural selection]], the [[germ theory of disease]], and the application of the techniques of [[biochemistry|chemistry]] and [[biophysics|physics]] at the level of the [[cell (biology)|cell]] or [[organic molecule]].

Modern biology is divided into subdisciplines by the type of organism and by the scale being studied. [[Molecular biology]] is the study of the fundamental chemistry of life, while [[cellular biology]] is the examination of the cell; the basic building block of all life. At a higher level, [[anatomy]] and [[physiology]] look at the internal structures, and their functions, of an organism, while [[ecology]] looks at how various organisms interrelate.