---
title: "Branches of science"
chunk: 3/3
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Branches_of_science"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T03:23:44.694631+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

Life science, also known as biology, is the natural science that studies life such as microorganisms, plants, and animals including human beings, – including their physical structure, chemical processes, molecular interactions, physiological mechanisms, development, and evolution. Despite the complexity of the science, certain unifying concepts consolidate it into a single, coherent field. Biology recognizes the cell as the basic unit of life, genes as the basic unit of heredity, and evolution as the engine that propels the creation and extinction of species. Living organisms are open systems that survive by transforming energy and decreasing their local entropy to maintain a stable and vital condition defined as homeostasis.

==== Biochemistry ====

Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms.  It is a sub-discipline of both biology and chemistry, and from a reductionist point of view it is fundamental in biology.  Biochemistry is closely related to molecular biology, cell biology, genetics, and physiology.

==== Microbiology ====

Microbiology is the study of microorganisms, those being unicellular (single cell), multicellular (cell colony), or acellular (lacking cells).  Microbiology encompasses numerous sub-disciplines including virology, bacteriology, protistology, mycology, immunology and parasitology.

==== Botany ====

Botany, also called plant science(s), plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology.  Traditionally, botany has also included the study of fungi and algae by mycologists and phycologists respectively, with the study of these three groups of organisms remaining within the sphere of interest of the International Botanical Congress. Nowadays, botanists (in the strict sense) study approximately 410,000 species of land plants of which some 391,000 species are vascular plants (including approximately 369,000 species of flowering plants), and approximately 20,000 are bryophytes.

==== Zoology ====

Zoology () is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. The term is derived from Ancient Greek ζῷον, zōion, i.e. "animal" and λόγος, logos, i.e. "knowledge, study". Some branches of zoology include: anthrozoology, arachnology, archaeozoology, cetology, embryology, entomology, helminthology, herpetology, histology, ichthyology, malacology, mammalogy, morphology, nematology, ornithology, palaeozoology, pathology, primatology, protozoology, taxonomy, and zoogeography.

==== Ecology ====

Ecology (from Greek: οἶκος, "house", or "environment"; -λογία, "study of") is a branch of biology concerning interactions among organisms and their biophysical environment, which includes both biotic and abiotic components. Topics of interest include the biodiversity, distribution, biomass, and populations of organisms, as well as cooperation and competition within and between species. Ecosystems are dynamically interacting systems of organisms, the communities they make up, and the non-living components of their environment. Ecosystem processes, such as primary production, pedogenesis, nutrient cycling, and niche construction, regulate the flux of energy and matter through an environment. Organisms with specific life history traits sustain these processes.

== Social sciences ==

Social science is the branch of science devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of society", established in the 19th century. In addition to sociology, it now encompasses a wide array of academic disciplines, including anthropology, archaeology, economics, education, history, human geography, law, linguistics, political science, and psychology.
Positivist social scientists use methods resembling those of the natural sciences as tools for understanding society, and so define science in its stricter modern sense. Interpretivist social scientists, by contrast, may use social critique or symbolic interpretation rather than constructing empirically falsifiable theories. In modern academic practice, researchers are often eclectic, using multiple methodologies (for instance, by combining both quantitative and qualitative research). The term "social research" has also acquired a degree of autonomy as practitioners from various disciplines share in its aims and methods.

== Applied sciences ==

Applied science is the use of existing scientific knowledge to achieve practical goals, like technology or inventions.
Within natural science, disciplines that are basic science develop basic information to explain and perhaps predict phenomena in the natural world. Applied science is the use of scientific processes and knowledge as the means to achieve a particularly practical or useful result. This includes a broad range of applied science-related fields, including engineering and medicine.
Applied science can also apply formal science, such as statistics and probability theory, as in epidemiology. Genetic epidemiology is an applied science applying both biological and statistical methods.

== Relationships between the branches ==
The relationships between the branches of science are summarized by the  table.

== Visualizations and metascience ==
Metascience refers to or includes a field of science that is about science itself. OpenAlex and Scholia can be used to visualize and explore scientific fields and research topics.

== See also ==
Index of branches of science
List of words with the suffix -ology
Outline of science
Exact sciences
Basic research
Hard and soft science
Branches of philosophy
Philosophy of science
Engineering physics
Human science

== Notes ==

== References ==

=== Footnotes ===

=== Works cited ===

== External links ==
Branches of Science, sciencemirror