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
biomythology
Mythological creatures; such as, centaurs, unicorns, icthyocentaurs, chimeras, the sphinx, etc.
bion
1. A living thing; an individual living organism.
2. A living unit including not only cells but also viruses.

There is some confusion among biologists who say the term is considered synonymous with “individual” and by others as a variant spelling of biome. There is further confusion in the literature with biont.

bionanotechnology
1. The harnessing of biological processes on an ultra-small scale in the manufacture and alteration of materials and products.
2. A branch of nanotechnology that either uses biological starting materials, biological design principles, or has biological applications.
3. The practical application of biological knowledge and techniques for industrial purposes; for example, fermentation.
4. The use of contemporary biological techniques to produce new substances or to perform new functions; for example, recombinant DNA technology.
bionavigate
To return to a given site without the use of landmarks, as some birds to their roosts, by means of instinctual abilities of some animals.
bionavigation
1. The instinctual ability of some animals to return to a given site without the use of landmarks, as birds to their roosts or salmon to spawning streams.
2. The ability of certain animals to travel to a precise distant location; such as, a breeding or wintering site, without any evident use of landmarks.
bionecrosis (s), bionecroses (pl) (nouns)
1. Physiologic or normal death of cells or tissues as a result of changes associated with development, aging, or use.
2. Necrosis of a small area of tissue. Also, necrobiosis.
bionegativity (s) (noun), bionegativities (pl)
Abnormality of a person's composition in which one or more parts disturb the total operating condition of an organism: In an entirely healthy neurological organism, the various parts are integrated in such a way that they promote the total function of the body, while in bionegativity, or an abnormal situation, the integration is unbalanced or diminished as one or more parts slow down or interfere with the normal activity which promotes the total function.
bionic
1. Of or pertaining to bionics; having or being an artificial, especially electromechanical, device that replaces parts of the body; having ordinary human capabilities increased (as if) by the aid of such devices.
2. Utilizing electronic devices and mechanical parts to assist humans in performing diffickult, dangerous, or intricate tasks, as by supplementing or duplicating parts of the body: "The scientists used a bionic arm to examine the radioactive materials." 3. Having superhuman strength, speed, or intensity.
bionics
1. The science of biologic functions and mechanisms as applied to electronic chemistry; such as, computers employing various aspects of physics, mathematics, and chemistry; e.g., improving cybernetic engineering by reference to the organization of the vertebrate nervous system.
2. The science of applying the knowledge gained by studying the characteristics of living organisms to the formulation of non-organic devices and techniques.
3. The study of biological functions and mechanisms from the point of view of applying them to electronic devices, such as computers.
4. A combination of biology and technology which has made remarkable progress possible in different areas.

Nature has provided ideas for high-strength materials, low-friction surfaces, dirt-repellent coatings and practical Velcro fastenings, for example.

Many of these inventions are based on, more or less, accidental discoveries from the animal and plant world. For the first time in the case of the Mercedes-Benz bionic car, the engineers at the Mercedes-Benz Technology Center (MTC) looked for a specific example in nature whose shape and structure approximated their ideas for an aerodynamic, safe, spacious, and environmentally compatible car.

In other words, this was not a matter of detailed solutions, but of a complete transfer from nature to technology which is considered a first.

Information about a new bionic hand.

bionomic
1. Of or pertaining to the conditions under which an organism lives in its natural habitat; of or pertaining to bionomics.
2. The branch of biology that deals with the mode of life of organisms in their natural habitat, their adaptation to their surroundings, etc.; ecology.
bionomical
bionomics
1. The merger of biological and economic theories.
2. A branch of biology dealing with life's adaptation to its environment.
bionomy, bionomics
The laws of life or the science concerned with the laws regulating vital functions.
biont
1. An individual organism.
2. A living thing.
bionucleonics
The study of the biological applications of radioactive and rare stable isotopes.
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-.