bio-

Life; living things.

Greek bios, (course of) human life.

Though the Greek precursor of this form referred only to human life, the sense has been extended to mean organic life in general, especially in the key term biology, the study of living organisms. The form is extremely active in the language, and only a few of the more common examples of compounds are given in the list below. The great importance and potential of biological topics has resulted in many terms for cross-disciplinary subjects of study—a few examples appear in the list.

Examples of words in bio‑
Terms mainly derive from English stems

General terms

bioavailability

the proportion of a drug or other substance which is able to have an active effect in the body

biodegradable

capable of being decomposed by bacteria or other living organisms and thereby avoiding pollution

biodiversity

the variety of plant and animal life in the world or in a particular habitat

biofeedback

the use of electronic monitoring of a normally automatic bodily function in order to train someone to acquire voluntary control of that function

biogas

gaseous fuel, especially methane, produced by the fermentation of organic matter

biohazard

a risk to human health or the environment arising from biological work

biome

a large naturally occurring community of flora and fauna occupying a major habitat, such as forest or tundra

biomedical

of or relating to both biology and medicine

bioremediation

the use of micro-organisms to consume and break down environmental pollutants

biosphere

the regions of the surface and atmosphere of the earth or another planet occupied by living organisms

Subjects of study

biochemistry

of the chemical and physico-chemical processes which occur within living organisms

biocomputing

of the design and construction of computers using biochemical components

biogeography

of the geographical distribution of plants and animals

biomathematics

of the application of mathematics to biology

biomechanics

of the mechanical laws relating to the movement or structure of living organisms

biophysics

of the application of physics to biology

biotechnology

the exploitation of biological processes for industrial and other purposes