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Biofact (biology)
In biology, a biofact is dead material of a once-living organism. In 1943, the protozoologist Bruno M. Klein of Vienna (1891–1968) coined the term in his article ''Biofakt und Artefakt'' in the microscopy journal ''Mikrokosmos'', though at that time it was not adopted by the scientific community. Klein's concept of biofact stressed the dead materials produced by living organisms as sheaths, such as shells. The word ''biofact'' is now widely used in the zoo/aquarium world, but was first used by Lisbeth Bornhofft in 1993 in the Education Department at the New England Aquarium, Boston, to refer to preserved items such as animal bones, skins, molts and eggs. The Accreditation Standards and Related Policies of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums states that biofacts can be useful education tools, and are preferable to live animals because of potential ethical considerations. See also *Biofact (archaeology) In archaeology, a biofact (or ecofact) is any organic material includi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biology
Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and distribution of life. Central to biology are five fundamental themes: the cell (biology), cell as the basic unit of life, genes and heredity as the basis of inheritance, evolution as the driver of biological diversity, energy transformation for sustaining life processes, and the maintenance of internal stability (homeostasis). Biology examines life across multiple biological organisation, levels of organization, from molecules and cells to organisms, populations, and ecosystems. Subdisciplines include molecular biology, physiology, ecology, evolutionary biology, developmental biology, and systematics, among others. Each of these fields applies a range of methods to investigate biological phenomena, including scientific method, observation, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dead
Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose shortly after death. Some organisms, such as '' Turritopsis dohrnii'', are biologically immortal; however, they can still die from means other than aging. Death is generally applied to whole organisms; the equivalent for individual components of an organism, such as cells or tissues, is necrosis. Something that is not considered an organism, such as a virus, can be physically destroyed but is not said ''to die'', as a virus is not considered alive in the first place. As of the early 21st century, 56 million people die per year. The most common reason is aging, followed by cardiovascular disease, which is a disease that affects the heart or blood vessels. As of 2022, an estimated total of almost 110 billion humans have died, or rough ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protozoologist
Protistology is a scientific discipline devoted to the study of protists, a highly diverse group of eukaryotic organisms. All eukaryotes apart from animals, plants and fungi are considered protists. Its field of study therefore overlaps with the more traditional disciplines of phycology, mycology, and protozoology, just as protists embrace mostly unicellular organisms described as algae, some organisms regarded previously as primitive fungi, and protozoa ("animal" motile protists lacking chloroplasts). They are a paraphyletic group with very diverse morphologies and lifestyles. Their sizes range from unicellular picoeukaryotes only a few micrometres in diameter to multicellular marine algae several metres long. History The history of the study of protists has its origins in the 17th century. Since the beginning, the study of protists has been intimately linked to developments in microscopy, which have allowed important advances in the understanding of these organisms due t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New England Aquarium
The New England Aquarium is a nonprofit organization located in Boston, Massachusetts. The species exhibited include Harbor seal, harbor and northern fur seals, California sea lions, African penguin, African and southern rockhopper penguins, giant Pacific octopuses, Common seadragon, weedy seadragons, and thousands of saltwater and freshwater fishes. In addition to the main aquarium building, attractions at Central Wharf include the Simons Theatre and the New England Aquarium Whale Watch. More than 1.3 million guests visited the aquarium each year prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life at the New England Aquarium conducts long-running research on the North Atlantic right whale, and its Quincy Animal Care Center rescues and rehabilitates hundreds of sea turtles annually. History Boston has had multiple aquariums since the 1880s, the last before the New England Aquarium being the South Boston Aquarium at Marine Park, which closed i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Association Of Zoos And Aquariums
The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), originally the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums (AAZPA), is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1924 and dedicated to the advancement of zoos and public aquariums in the areas of conservation, education, science, and recreation. AZA is headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland, and accredits zoos. There were 238 accredited zoos and aquariums as of 2025, primarily in the US, with a handful in twelve other countries; additionally, the AZA network contains 14 accredited related facilities. History In October 1924 the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums was formed as an affiliate of the American Institute of Park Executives. In 1966, the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums became a professional branch affiliate of the newly formed National Recreation and Park Association, which absorbed the American Institute of Park Executives. In the fall of 1971, the A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biofact (archaeology)
In archaeology, a biofact (or ecofact) is any organic material including flora or fauna material found at an archaeological site that has not been technologically altered by humans yet still has cultural relevance. Biofacts can include but are not limited to plants, seeds, pollen, animal bones, insects, fish bones and mollusks. The study of biofacts, alongside other archaeological remains such as artifacts are a key element to understanding how past societies interacted with their surrounding environment and with each other. Biofacts also play a role in helping archaeologists understand questions of subsistence and reveals information about the domestication of certain plant species and animals which demonstrates, for example, the transition from a hunter-gatherer society to a farming society. Biofacts are differentiated from artifacts in that artifacts are typically considered anything purposefully manipulated or made by human art and workmanship, whereas ecofacts represent ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
