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
bioresearch
Research in the biological sciences.
biorheology
1. The science concerned with deformation (process of adapting in shape or form) and flow in biological systems.
2. The study of the deformation and flow of matter in living systems and in materials directly derived from them.
biorhythm, biorhythms
1. Supposed regular cycles in human physiological processes that affect emotions and behavior.
2. A biologically inherent cyclic variation or recurrence of an event or state; such as, the sleep cycle, circadian rhythms, or periodic diseases.
3. An endogenous cyclic variation in some aspect of an organism's bodily functioning, as the daily cycle of sleeping and waking, or the annual cycle of dormancy and activity in some animals; specifically each of three alleged cycles of different periods involving a person’s physical, emotional, and intellectual activity, as used to explain or predict behavior.
biorhythmic
biorhythmicist
Someone who advocates or employs biorhythmics or the study of biorhythms (an innate periodicity in an organism's physiological processes; such as, sleep and wake cycles).
bioroentgenography (s) (noun), bioroentgenographies (pl)
An obsolete or out dated term for the making of x-ray pictures of objects in motion.
bios
1. Organic life.
2. A group of substances (including inositol, biotin, and thiamine) necessary for the most favorable growth of some yeasts.
biosafety
The maintenance of safe conditions in biological research to prevent harm to workers, nonlaboratory organisms, or the environment.
biosafety levels, BSL
A classification system used to indicate the safety precautions required for those investigating microorganisms; especially, viruses known to be dangerous, or lethal, to those exposed to them.

There are four BSLs, with BSL-4 requiring the highest level of security.

biosaline
A reference to systems suitable for making deserts economically useful.
biosatellite
1. An artificial satellite containing living organisms, or even humans, for experimental purposes.
2. An artificial satellite that can support plant or animal life forms.
bioscience (s) (noun), biosciences (pl)
1. A collective term for the biological sciences including physics, chemistry, etc. wherein all are applicable.
2. A science that studies structures, functions, interactions, or other aspects of living organisms.
3. Any science that deals with the biological aspects of living organisms.
bioscientist (s) (noun), bioscientists (pl)
A specialist in any of the life sciences; for example: biology, ecology, physiology, or molecular biology.
bioscope
1. A view or survey of life.
2. An earlier form of cinematograph or motion-picture projector; used in about 1900.
3. A South African word for cinema or movie theater.
bioscopy
1. The medical examination of a body to discover whether it is alive or if there is any presence of life.
2. The examination of vital functions; such as, respiration, heart beat, and pulse to determine whether an individual is alive.
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-.