The life sciences or biological sciences comprise the branches of science that involve the scientific study of life and organisms – such as microorganisms, plants, and animals including human beings.
Life science is one of the two major branches of natural science, the other being physical science, which is concerned with non-living matter.
By definition, biology is the natural science that studies life and living organisms, with the other life sciences being its sub-disciplines.
Some life sciences focus on a specific type of organism. For example, zoology is the study of animals, while botany is the study of plants. Other life sciences focus on aspects common to all or many life forms, such as anatomy and genetics. Some focus on the micro scale (e.g. molecular biology, biochemistry) other on larger scales (e.g. cytology, immunology, ethology, ecology). Another major, branch of life sciences involves understanding the mind – neuroscience.
Life sciences discoveries are helpful in improving the quality and standard of life, and have applications in health, agriculture, medicine, and the pharmaceutical and food science industries.