Biological Sciences

Study of living things and their vital processes. The field deals with all the physicochemical aspects of life. As a result of the modern tendency to unify scientific knowledge and investigation, however,...

• 1000 Genomes Project

  an international collaboration in which researchers aimed to sequence the genomes of a large number of people from different ethnic groups worldwide with the intent of creating a catalog of genetic variations occurring with a frequency of at least 1...

• Abel, John Jacob

  American pharmacologist and physiological chemist who made important contributions to a modern understanding of the ductless, or endocrine, glands. He isolated adrenaline in the form of a chemical derivative (1897) and crystallized insulin (1926). He...

• Adanson, Michel

  French botanist who devised a natural system of classification and nomenclature of plants, based on all their physical characteristics, with an emphasis on families. In 1749 Adanson left for Senegal to spend four years as an employee with the Compagnie...

• Agassiz, Alexander Emmanuel Rodolphe

  marine zoologist, oceanographer, and mining engineer who made important contributions to systematic zoology, to the knowledge of ocean beds, and to the development of a major copper mine. Son of the Swiss naturalist Louis Agassiz, he joined his father...

• Agassiz, Louis

  Swiss-born American naturalist, geologist, and teacher who made revolutionary contributions to the study of natural science with landmark work on glacier activity and extinct fishes. He achieved lasting fame through his innovative teaching methods, which...

• agricultural economics

  study of the allocation, distribution, and utilization of the resources used, along with the commodities produced, by farming. Agricultural economics plays a role in the economics of development, for a continuous level of farm surplus is one of the wellsprings...

• agrostology

  the branch of botany concerned with the study of grasses, especially their classification. In 1708 the German botanist Johann Scheuchzer wrote Agrostographiae Helveticae Prodromus, a taxonomic paper on grasses that some authors consider to mark the birth...

• Albinus, Bernard Siegfried

  German anatomist who was the first to show the connection of the vascular systems of the mother and the fetus. From 1721 until his death, Albinus occupied the chair of anatomy, surgery, and medicine at the University of Leiden. He is best known for the...

• Alcmaeon

  Greek philosopher and physiologist of the academy at Croton (now Crotone, southern Italy), the first person recorded to have practiced dissection of human bodies for research purposes. He may also have been the first to attempt vivisection. Alcmaeon...

• Aldrovandi, Ulisse

  Renaissance naturalist and physician noted for his systematic and accurate observations of animals, plants, and minerals. After studying mathematics, Latin, law, and philosophy, Aldrovandi went to Padua in about 1545 to continue his studies. There he...

• Alexander, Hattie Elizabeth

  American pediatrician and microbiologist whose groundbreaking work on influenzal meningitis significantly reduced infant death rates and advanced the field of microbiological genetics. Alexander received her bachelor’s degree in 1923 from Goucher College,...

• Allee, Warder Clyde

  zoologist and ecologist noted for his research on social behaviour, aggregations, and distribution of animals in both aquatic and terrestrial environments. Allee became interested in the problems and patterns of the distribution of marine animals during...

• Alpini, Prospero

  physician and botanist who is credited with the introduction to Europe of coffee and bananas. While a medical adviser to Giorgio Emo, the Venetian consul in Cairo (1580–83), Alpini made an extensive study of Egyptian and Mediterranean flora. He is reputed...

• Altman, Sidney

  Canadian American molecular biologist who, with Thomas R. Cech, received the 1989 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for their discoveries concerning the catalytic properties of RNA, or ribonucleic acid. Altman received a B.S. in physics in 1960 from the Massachusetts...

• American Philosophical Society

  oldest extant learned society in the United States, founded under the impetus of Benjamin Franklin in 1743. At the beginning of the 21st century, it had more than 850 members, elected for their scholarly and scientific accomplishments in any of five...

• analytic psychology

  the psychoanalytic method of Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung as he distinguished it from that of Sigmund Freud. Jung attached less importance than did Freud to the role of sexuality in the neuroses and stressed the analysis of patients’ immediate conflicts...

• anatomy

  a field in the biological sciences concerned with the identification and description of the body structures of living things. Gross anatomy involves the study of major body structures by dissection and observation and in its narrowest sense is concerned...

• Andrews, Roy Chapman

  naturalist, explorer, and author, who led many important scientific expeditions for which he obtained financial support through his public lectures and books, particularly on central Asia and eastern Asia. After graduating from Beloit (Wis.) College...

• Anfinsen, Christian B.

  American biochemist who, with Stanford Moore and William H. Stein, received the 1972 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for research clarifying the relationship between the molecular structure of proteins and their biological functions. Anfinsen received a doctorate...

• anthropology

  “the science of humanity,” which studies human beings in aspects ranging from the biology and evolutionary history of Homo sapiens to the features of society and culture that decisively distinguish humans from other animal species. Because of the diverse...