Cell biology formerly called cytology and otherwise known as molecular or cell biology, is a branch of biology that studies the different structures and functions of the cell and focuses mainly on the idea of the cell as the basic unit of life. Cell biology explains the structure, organizationof the organelles they contain, their physiological properties, metabolicprocesses, signaling pathways, life cycle, and interactions with their environment. This is done both on a microscopic and molecular level as it encompasses prokaryotic cells and eukaryotic cells. Knowing the components of cells and how cells work is fundamental to all biological sciences it is also essential for research in bio-medical fields such as cancer, and other diseases. Research in cell biology is closely related to genetics, biochemistry, molecularbiology, immunology, and developmental biology.

The study of the cell is done on a molecular level; however, most of the processes within the cells are made up of a mixture of small organic molecules, inorganic ions, hormones, and water. Approximately 75-85% of the cell’s volume is due to water making it an indispensable solvent as a result of its polarity and structure. These molecules within the cell, which operate as substrates, provide a suitable environment for the cell to carry out metabolic reactions and signalling. The cell shape varies among the different types of organisms, and is thus then classified into two categories: eukaryotes and prokaryotes. In the case of eukaryotic cells - which are made up of animal, plant, fungi, and protozoa cells - the shapes are generally round and spherical, while for prokaryotic cells – which are composed of bacteria and archaea - the shapes are: spherical (cocci), rods (bacillus), curved (vibrio), and spirals (spirochetes).Cell biology focuses more on the study of eukaryotic cells, and their signalling pathways, rather than on prokaryotes which is covered under microbiology. 

Molecular biology  the molecular basis of biological activity between biomolecules in the various systems of a cell, including the interactions between DNA, RNA and proteins and their biosynthesis, as well as the regulation of these interactions. Writing in Nature in 1961, William Astbury described molecular biology as:

An approach from the viewpoint of the so-called basic sciences with the leading idea of searching below the large-scale manifestations of classical biology for the corresponding molecular plan. It is concerned particularly with the forms of biological molecules and is predominantly three-dimensional and structural—which does not mean, however, that it is merely a refinement of morphology. It must at the same time inquire into genesis and function.

Molecular biology is the study of molecular underpinnings of the processes of replication, transcription, translation, and cell function. The central dogma of molecular biology where genetic material is transcribed into RNA and then translated into protein, despite being an oversimplified picture of molecular biology, still provides a good starting point for understanding the field. This picture, however, is undergoing revision in light of emerging novel roles for RNA.

Much of the work in molecular biology is quantitative, and recently much work has been done at the interface of molecular biology and computer science in bioinformatics and computational biology. As of the early 2000s, the study of gene structure and function, molecular genetics, has been among the most prominent sub-field of molecular biology.

Increasingly many other loops of biology focus on molecules, either directly studying their interactions in their own right such as in cell biology and developmental biology, or indirectly, where the techniques of molecular biology are used to infer historical attributes of populations or species, as in fields in evolutionary biology such as population genetics and phylogenetic. There is also a long tradition of studying biomolecules "from the ground up" in biophysics.

Cancer Biology and Genetics (CBG) Program is to pursue research bridging basic and clinical aspects of the genesis, progression, prognosis, prevention, and treatment of cancer. Research at CBG focuses on molecular and genetic determinants of cancer predisposition, tumor development and metastasis, and the nature of therapeutic targets and the basis for their response to therapy. The program draws from fundamental mechanisms of cell and tissue development and homeostasis, animal models of disease, and clinical samples and studies. Translational research is a primary focus of many CBG members and permeates the research projects of our other members.

Cancer research ranges from epidemiology, molecular bioscience to the performance of clinical trials to evaluate and compare applications of the various cancer treatment. These applications include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, immunotherapy  and combined treatment modalities such as chemo-radiotherapy. Starting in the mid-1990s, the emphasis in clinical cancer research shifted towards therapies derived from biotechnology research, such as cancer immunotherapy and gene therapy.

Developmental biology is the study of the process by which animals and plants grow and develop, and is synonymous with ontogeny. In animals most development occurs in embryonic life, but it is also found in regeneration, asexual reproduction and metamorphosis, and in the growth and differentiation of stem cells in the adult organism. In plants, development occurs in embryos, during vegetative reproduction, and in the normal outgrowth of roots, shoots and flowers. Practical outcomes from the study of animal developmental biology have included in vitro fertilization, now widely used in fertility treatment, the understanding of risks from substances that can damage the fetus (teratogens), and the creation of various animal models for human disease which are useful in research. Developmental Biology has also helped to generate modern stem cell biology which promises a number of important practical benefits for human health.

The main processes involved in the embryonic development of animals are: regional specification, morphogenesis, cell differentiation, growth, and the overall control of timing. Regional specification refers to the processes that create spatial pattern in a ball or sheet of initially similar cells. This generally involves the action of cytoplasmic determinants, located within parts of the fertilized egg, and of inductive signals emitted from signaling centers in the embryo. The early stages of regional specification do not generate functional differentiated cells, but cell populations committed to develop to a specific region or part of the organism. These are defined by the expression of specific combinations of transcription factors. Morphogenesis relates to the formation of three-dimensional shape. It mainly involves the orchestrated movements of cell sheets and of individual cells. Morphogenesis is important for creating the three germ layers of the early embryo (ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm) and for building up complex structures during organ development. Cell differentiation relates specifically to the formation of functional cell types such as nerve, muscle, secretory epithelia etc. Differentiated cells contain large amounts of specific proteins associated with the cell function. Growth involves both an overall increase in size, and also the differential growth of parts (allometry) which contributes to morphogenesis. Growth mostly occurs through cell division but also through changes of cell size and the deposition of extracellular materials. The control of timing of events and the integration of the various processes with one another is the least well understood area of the subject. It remains unclear whether animal embryos contain a master clock mechanism or not. The development of plants involves similar processes to that of animals. However plant cells are mostly immotile so morphogenesis is achieved by differential growth, without cell movements. Also, the inductive signals and the genes involved in plant development are different from those that control animal development.

Biochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. By controlling information flow through biochemical signaling and the flow of chemical energy through metabolism, biochemical processes give rise to the complexity of life. Over the last decades of the 20th century, biochemistry has become so successful at explaining living processes that now almost all areas of the life sciences from botany to medicine to genetics are engaged in biochemical research. Today, the main focus of pure biochemistry is on understanding how biological molecules give rise to the processes that occur within living cells, which in turn relates greatly to the study and understanding of tissues, organs, and whole organisms that is, all of biology.

Biochemistry is closely related to molecular biology, the study of the molecular mechanisms by which genetic information encoded in DNA is able to result in the processes of life. Depending on the exact definition of the terms used, molecular biology can be thought of as a branch of biochemistry, or biochemistry as a tool with which to investigate and study molecular biology.

Much of biochemistry deals with the structures, functions and interactions of biological macromolecules, such as proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates and lipids, which provide the structure of cells and perform many of the functions associated with life. The chemistry of the cell also depends on the reactions of smaller molecules and ions. These can be inorganic, for example water and metal ions, or organic, for example the amino acids, which are used to synthesize proteins. The mechanisms by which cells harness energy from their environment via chemical reactions are known as metabolism. The findings of biochemistry are applied primarily in medicine, nutrition, and agriculture. In medicine, biochemists investigate the causes and cures of diseases. In nutrition, they study how to maintain health and study the effects of nutritional deficiencies. In agriculture, biochemists investigate soil and fertilizers, and try to discover ways to improve crop cultivation, crop storage and pest control.

In biology, cell theory is a scientific theory which describes the properties of cells. These cells are the basic unit of structure in all organisms and also the basic unit of reproduction. With continual improvements made to microscopes over time, magnification technology advanced enough to discover cells in the 17th century. This discovery is largely attributed to Robert Hooke, and began the scientific study of cells, also known as cell biology. Over a century later, many debates about cells began amongst scientists. Most of these debates involved the nature of cellular regeneration, and the idea of cells as a fundamental unit of life. Cell theory was eventually formulated in 1838. This is usually credited to Matthias Schleiden and Theodor Schwann. However, many other scientists like Rudolf Virchow contributed to the theory. Cell theory has become the foundation of biology and is the most widely accepted explanation of the function of cells.

The three tenets to the cell theory are as described below:

1.     All living organisms are composed of one or more cells. (However, this is controversial because non-cellular life such as viruses are disputed as a life form.

2.     The cell is the basic unit of structure and organization in organisms.

3.     Cells come from pre-existing cells.

Genomic technologies are generating an extraordinary amount of information, unprecedented in the history of Biology. Thus, a new scientific discipline, Bioinformatics, at the intersection between Biology and Computation, has recently emerged. Bioinformatics addresses the specific needs in data acquisition, storage, analysis and integration that research in genomics generates. Within the CRG, Bioinformatics plays a role central to the other research programs at the CRG.

Among the current research lines, we highlight 1) Gene Prediction and Modeling of Splicing, related to the research on Regulation of Alternative Splicing, and on Regulation of Protein Synthesis within the "Gene Regulation" program, and in general with the "Genes and Diseases" program,

2) Identification and characterization of genomic regions involved in Gene Regulation, related to the research on Chromatin and Gene Expression, and on RNA proteins Interactions within the "Gene Regulation" program, and

3) Molecular Evolution, which includes evolution of the exonic structure of the genes, and evolution of splicing.

The "Bioinformatics" program also includes a research group in microarrays, which will be complemented soon with a new group specifically devoted to Microarray Informatics. The "Bioinformatics" program is closely related to the Research Group in Biomedical Informatics . A number of complementary research lines are being developed in Molecular Modeling, Protein Structure Prediction, and Complex Systems.

A branch of cytology that studies the chemistry of cell structures and the location of chemical compounds within a cell and their transformations in connection with the functioning of the cell and its individual components. Staining techniques were subsequently developed to observe carbohydrates, proteins, amino acids, mineral compounds, and lipids under the microscope. The introduction of the use of aniline dyes in the late 19th and early 20th centuries led to major advances in cytochemistry and immune cell biology. The principal approach incytochemistry involves conducting appropriate chemical reactions in histological specimens and then evaluating them under a microscope. The evaluation may be qualitative (visual) or quantitative, using cyto photometry, autoradiography, and other methods.

The use of electron microscopy and immunecytochemistry techniques in cytochemistry has been developing rapidly in recent years. Also used are micro chemical methods, which make it possible to excise and examine individual cells, and centrifugation, which makes it possible to obtain tissue fractions abounding in certain types of cells or subcellular structures, such as nuclei, mitochondria, microsomes, and cytoplasmic membranes. The main achievements of cytochemistry include the demonstration of the constant quantity of the DNA in the chromosome set, as well as the demonstration of the participation of macro-molecules (nucleic acids and proteins) in the specific functional activity of the plant biochemistrycell and the irmigration within the cell from the affective neuroscience to the cytoplasm and from the cell body to the outgrowths and back.

Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in living organisms. It is generally considered a field of biology, but it intersects frequently with many of the life sciences and is strongly linked with the study of information systems.

The father of genetics is Gregor Mendel, a late 19th-century scientist and Augustinian friar. Mendel studied 'trait inheritance', patterns in the way traits were handed down from parents to offspring. He observed that organisms (pea plants) inherit traits by way of discrete "units of inheritance". This term, still used today, is a somewhat ambiguous definition of what is referred to as a gene.

Trait inheritance and molecular inheritance mechanisms of genes are still primary principles of genetics in the 21st century, but modern genetics has expanded beyond inheritance to studying the function and behavior of genes. Gene structure and function, variation, and distribution are studied within the context of the cell, the organism (e.g. dominance) and within the context of a population. Genetics has given rise to a number of sub-fields including epigenetics and population genetics. Organisms studied within the broad field span the domain of life, including bacteria, plants, animals, and humans.

Genetic processes work in combination with an organism's environment and experiences to influence development and behavior, often referred to as nature versus nurture. The intra- or extra-cellular environment of a cell or organism may switch gene transcription on or off. A classic example is two seeds of genetically identical corn, one placed in a temperate climate and one in an arid climate. While the average height of the two corn stalks may be genetically determined to be equal, the one in the arid climate only grows to half the height of the one in the temperate climate due to lack of water and nutrients in its environment.

Immunology is a branch of biomedical science that covers the study of immune systems in all organisms. It charts, measures, and contextualizes the: physiological functioning of the immune system in states of both health and diseases; malfunctions of the immune system in immunological disorders (such as autoimmune diseases, hypersensitivities, immune deficiency, and transplant rejection); the physical, chemical and physiological characteristics of the components of the immune system in vitro, in situ, and in vivo. Immunology has applications in numerous disciplines of medicine, particularly in the fields of organ transplantation, oncology, virology, bacteriology, parasitology, psychiatry, and dermatology.

Prior to the designation of immunity from the etymological root immunis, which is Latin for "exempt"; early physicians characterized organs that would later be proven as essential components of the immune system. The important lymphoid organs of the immune system are the thymus and bone marrow, and chief lymphatic tissues such as spleen, tonsils, lymph vessels, lymph nodes, adenoids, and liver. When health conditions worsen to emergency status, portions of immune system organs including the thymus, spleen, bone marrow, lymph nodes and other lymphatic tissues can be surgically excised for examination while patients are still alive.

Many components of the immune system are typically cellular in nature and not associated with any specific organ; but rather are embedded or circulating in various tissues located throughout the body.

Increasingly complex biological problems and extremely large biological data sets have necessitated new approaches to answer many of today’s current research challenges and tackle emerging questions in biology not amenable to traditional approaches.  As one of the fields in the “New Biologies”, Computational and Systems Biology (CSB) encompasses an interdisciplinary approach that harnesses the power of computation and systems-level analyses to formulate and solve critical biological problems.  These research programs within CSB also synergize and collaborate with the extensive basic and clinical research programs at the University of Pittsburgh and across the globe.  Concomitant with our research foci, CSB is also a leader in educating and training all levels of emerging and nascent scientists, who will continue this work and identify and tackle new biological problems of the next generation.

The Major is designed primarily for highly motivated students interested in interdisciplinary activities in life sciences, behavioral sciences, and the computational, control, communication and information branches of engineering and computer sciences. Primary emphasis is on integrative computational and systems biology studies. Students have several options for in-depth studies: a coherent integration of courses selected from one of five designated concentrations in Systems Biology, Bioinformatics, Neurosystems, Biomedical Systems or Computers & Biosystems; or from the broader concentration areas of life sciences, behavioral sciences, engineering and applied mathematical sciences, from these areas.

It is well known in molecular biology that nature exploits nanoscale structure and mechanics for determining the properties and functions of biomolecules. These properties are significantly influenced by nanoscale molecular mechanics. Structure and mechanics plays an important role even in many biochemically important processes, for example oxygenation of hemoglobin in order to sustain life. The realization that many molecular phenomena are manifest in mechanical responses at the nanoscale offers unprecedented potential for developing sensors, machines, and other devices. Utilizing mechanics on the nanoscale is a paradigm shift in science and technology.

International conference and Exhibition on Cytology & Histology, August  1-3, 2016 Manchester, UK; Conference on Biochemistry, October 13-15, 2016 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; 5^th International Conference and Exhibition on Pathology, May 9-11, 2016 Chicago, USA;  2^nd International Conference on Cytopathology, August 11-12, 2016 Birmingham, UK; International Conference on Nuclear Chemistry, October 20-22, 2016 Rome,Italy; International CME in Pathology, Histopathology and Cytopathology, February 4-6, 2016, Bambolim, Goa, India; 15^th International Congress of Histochemistry and Cytochemistry,          Jun 19-22, 2016, Istanbul, Turkey; Immunochemistry & Immunobiology Gordon  Research Conference, June 19-24, 2016, Renaissance Tuscany Il Ciocco Lucca (Barga), Italy; 19th International Congress of Cytology Yokohama, 28 -1, June, 2016, Manchester, UK; International CME in Pathology, Histopathology and Cytopathology, February 4-6, 2016, Bambolim, Goa, India.

Forensic biology is the application of biology to law enforcement.

It includes the subdisciplines of forensic anthropology, forensic botany, forensic entomology, forensic odontology and various DNA or protein based techniques.

DNA-based evidence has become a significant tool that many law enforcement investigators now have at their disposal. DNA evidence can definitively link a suspect to either a crime scene or victim. Nuclear DNA evidence has been recovered from blood, semen, saliva, skin cells andhair. Furthermore, Mitochondrial DNA can be recovered from both bone and teeth dating back thousands of years. Laboratory analysis of DNA evidence generally involves the sample being amplified and quantified by a form of the Polymerase chain reaction known as Quantitative PCR or qPCR. (PCR) amplification of any sample recovered followed by sequencing via Capillary electrophoresis in order to obtain a DNA profile which can be compared to suspect DNA.

DNA can also be extracted from animals and used to at least identify the species, for example bird or bat remains on an airplane or wind turbine

Biotechnology is the use of living systems and organisms to develop or make products, or "any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use”.Depending on the tools and applications, it often overlaps with the (related) fields of bioengineering,biomedical engineering, biomanufacturing, etc.

For thousands of years, humankind has used biotechnology in agriculture, food production, and medicine. The term is largely believed to have been coined in 1919 by Hungarian engineer Károly Ereky. In the late 20th and early 21st century, biotechnology has expanded to include new and diverse sciences such as genomics, recombinant gene techniques, applied immunology, and development of pharmaceutical therapies and diagnostic tests

Applied physics is physics which is intended for a particular technological or practical use. It is usually considered as a bridge or a connection between physics and engineering.

"Applied" is distinguished from "pure" by a subtle combination of factors such as the motivation and attitude of researchers and the nature of the relationship to the technology or science that may be affected by the work. It usually differs from engineering in that an applied physicist may not be designing something in particular, but rather is using physics or conducting physics research with the aim of developing new technologies or solving an engineering problem. This approach is similar to that of applied mathematics. In other words, applied physics is rooted in the fundamental truths and basic concepts of the physical sciences but is concerned with the utilization of these scientific principles in practical devices and systems.

Applied physicists can also be interested in the use of physics for scientific research. For instance, the field of accelerator physics can contribute to research in theoretical physics by enabling design and construction of high-energy colliders