bio-, bi-, -bia, -bial, -bian, -bion, -biont, -bius, -biosis, -bium, -biotic, -biotical

(Greek: life; living, live, alive)

Don’t confuse this element with another bi- which means "two".

The most important things in life are not things.

—Anonymous
biophysiology
That part of biology that includes organogeny, morphology, and physiology.
biophyte
1. A plant that feeds on other living organisms.
2. A parasitic or predatory plant; or plants that get sustenance from living organisms.
biophytic
A reference to a plant consuming living organisms.
biopiracy (s) (noun) (no pl)
1. Biological theft: Biopiracy is the illegal collection of indigenous plants, microbes, enzymes, etc. by corporations that patent them for their own commercial use.
2. The commercial development of naturally occurring biological materials, such as plant substances or genetic cell lines, by a technologically advanced country, or an organization without fair compensation to the peoples or nations in whose territory the materials were originally discovered.

Biopiracy includes the patenting of plants, genes, and other biological products that are indigenous to a foreign country. For example, some developing tropical nations are saying that if the West cries foul over piracy of intellectual property or computer software, then biopiracy in Western labs of jungle extracts should also be considered a high economic crime.

Biopiracy usually refers to the privatization and unauthorized use of biological resources by entities (including corporations, universities, and governments) outside of a country that have pre-existing knowledge. This privatization and use is sometimes claimed to be predatory. Particular activities usually covered by the term are exclusive commercial rights to plants, animals, organs, microorganisms, and genes, as well as commercialization of traditional communities' knowledge on biological resources; and patenting of biological resources.

Here is a biopiracy article that presents an example of this topic.

Biopiracy: In the News
Resources from Kenyan Lake Bogoria is a current biopiracy issue.
bioplasm
Protoplasm, especially in its relation to living processes and development.

Protoplasm is the viscid, translucent, polyphasic colloid with water as the continuous phase that makes up the essential material of all plant and animal cells.

Singapore, with its Biopolis project, is pulling in top biomedical scientists because "what's going on over there is amazing. There's plenty of funding and a lot less bureaucracy." Moreover, "In the U.S. the state government says, Let's do one thing, while the Federal Government is trying to stamp it out." Singapore, by contrast, has a single set of reasonably permissive regulations.

—Excerpt from "Are We Losing Our Edge?" by Michael D. Lemonick, Time, Februay 05, 2006.
bioplasmic
bioplast
A functional independent mass of living protoplasm.
biopoeic
biopoesis
1. The (hypothetical) origin or evolution of living or lifelike structures from lifeless matter; abiogenesis.
2. The origin of life, including the abiotic synthesis of macromolecular systems and the transformation (eobiogenesis) of these systems into the first living organisms (eobionts).
3. The origin of organisms from replicating molecules.
biopoiesis
The origin of life from inorganic matter.

Primarily used to refer to theories about the chemical origin of life; such as, from a primordial sea, and most probably through a number of intermediate steps; such as, non-living but self-replicating molecules.

Biopolis (s) (noun) (no plural)
An integrated network of life-science research centers and biotech start-ups located in Singapore: "Biopolis is an international research and development center located in Singapore for biomedical sciences which came into existence about the year 2003."
biopollutant
A collective term for polluting agents that are living organisms, or the products of organisms; such as, airborne microorganisms, inflammatory agents (endotoxins), and indoor allergens; such as, house-dust mites.
biopolymer
1. A macromolecule occurring in a living organism such as a protein, a polysaccharide, or a nucleic acid.
2. Biodegradable polymer produced by living organisms; for example, polysaccharide gums (xanthans) produced by the bacterium Xanthomonas.
3. A polymer found in nature; for example, starch, proteins and peptides, and DNA and RNA.
biopotency (s) (noun), biopotencies (pl)
The capability of, or extent to which a chemical substance acts within a biological system; The student asked about the biopotency and effect of hormones and vitamins in a human body.
Quiz If you would like to take a series of self-scoring quizzes over some of the words in this bio- unit, then click this Life, Live, Living Quiz link so you can check your knowledge. You may also try several additional quizzes in this listing.

Related life, live-word units: anima-; -cole; vita-; viva-.