In this micrograph, the bacterium is visualized using a scanning electron microscope and digital colorization. coli), a bacterium that is a normal resident of our digestive tracts but which is also sometimes responsible for disease outbreaks. Figure 1.15 Biologists may choose to study Escherichia coli (E. Whatever its goal, there is no doubt that science, including biology, has transformed human existence and will continue to do so. Other science proceeds largely motivated by curiosity. Like politics, science has considerable practical implications and some science is dedicated to practical applications, such as the prevention of disease. Science also requires considerable imagination and creativity a well-designed experiment is commonly described as elegant, or beautiful. The methods of science include careful observation, record keeping, logical and mathematical reasoning, experimentation, and submitting conclusions to the scrutiny of others. In this sense, biology, like all sciences is a social enterprise like politics or the arts. The discoveries of biology are made by a community of researchers who work individually and together using agreed-on methods. Specifically, biology is the study of life. Like geology, physics, and chemistry, biology is a science that gathers knowledge about the natural world. These (b) stromatolites along the shores of Lake Thetis in Western Australia are ancient structures formed by the layering of cyanobacteria in shallow waters. Figure 1.14 Formerly called blue-green algae, the (a) cyanobacteria seen through a light microscope are some of Earth’s oldest life forms.
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