Boris Karloff in James Whale's 1931 film Frankenstein, based on Mary Shelley's 1818 novel. The monster is created by an unorthodox biology experiment.
Biology appears in fiction, especially but not only in science fiction, both in the shape of real aspects of the science, used as themes or plot devices, and in the form of fictional elements, whether fictional extensions or applications of biological theory, or through the invention of fictional organisms. Major aspects of biology found in fiction include evolution, disease, genetics, physiology, parasitism and symbiosis (mutualism), ethology, and ecology.
Speculative evolution enables authors with sufficient skill to create what the critic Helen N. Parker calls biological parables, illuminating the human condition from an alien viewpoint. Fictional alien animals and plants, especially humanoids, have frequently been created simply to provide entertaining monsters. Zoologists such as Sam Levin have argued that, driven by natural selection on other planets, aliens might indeed tend to resemble humans to some extent.
Major themes of science fiction include messages of optimism or pessimism; Helen N. Parker has noted that in biological fiction, pessimism is by far the dominant outlook. Early works such as H. G. Wells's novels explored the grim consequences of Darwinian evolution, ruthless competition, and the dark side of human nature; Aldous Huxley's Brave New World was similarly gloomy about the effects of genetic engineering.
Fictional biology, too, has enabled major science fiction authors like Stanley Weinbaum, Isaac Asimov, John Brunner, and Ursula Le Guin to create what Parker called biological parables, with convincing portrayals of alien worlds able to support deep analogies with Earth and humanity.
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Biology appears infiction, especially but not only in science fiction, both in the shape of real aspects of the science, used as themes or plot devices...
global scales. Biologyinfiction Glossary of biology List of biological websites List of biologists List of biology journals List of biology topics List...
occurred in 1956, during the Golden Age of Science Fiction.[dubious – discuss] Extraterrestrials are a common theme in modern science-fiction, and also...
worlds, in subterranean earth, or in parallel universes Aspects of biologyinfiction such as aliens, mutants, and enhanced humans Predicted or speculative...
it often occurs in time travel stories as well. Alternate future Time loop Travel to the Earth's center Hollow Earth Biologyinfiction Fantasy tropes...
set out in his 1859 On the Origin of Species, is the dominant theory in modern biology, but it is accompanied as a philosophy and infiction by two earlier...
Parasites appear frequently inbiology-inspired fiction from ancient times onwards, with a flowering in the nineteenth century. These include intentionally...
engineering, and eugenics have appeared infiction since the 19th century. Genetics is a young science, having started in 1900 with the rediscovery of Gregor...
Artificial intelligence is a recurrent theme in science fiction, whether utopian, emphasising the potential benefits, or dystopian, emphasising the dangers...
science fiction and an artistic movement focused on hypothetical scenarios in the evolution of life, and a significant form of fictional biology. It is...
February 2020. Glassy, Mark C. The Biology of Science Fiction Cinema. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland. 2001. The Biology of B-Movie Monsters by Michael C. LaBarbera...
Supernatural beings in Slavic folklore List of fictional plants List of dragons List of dragons in mythology and folklore List of dragons in literature List...
post-apocalyptic thriller. Biologyinfiction Medical fiction Parasites infiction Dugdale, John (1 August 2014). "Plague fiction – why authors love to write...
Ecofiction (also "eco-fiction" or "eco fiction") is the branch of literature that encompasses nature or environment-oriented works of fiction. While this super...
Biopunk (a portmanteau of "biotechnology" or "biology" and "punk") is a subgenre of science fiction that focuses on biotechnology. It is derived from...
Stasis (biology), a block of little or no evolutionary change in a species, in the punctuated equilibrium model of evolutionary biology Stasis (fiction), a...
Symbiosis (mutualism) appears infiction, especially science fiction, as a plot device. It is distinguished from parasitism infiction, a similar theme, by the...
Appel". Fiction Writers Review. Retrieved 2014-04-23. Tommy Dean, Biology of the Biology of Luck, Nailed Magazine. http://www.nailedmagazine.com/fiction...
Science in science fiction is the study or of how science is portrayed in works of science fiction, including novels, stories, and films. It covers a large...
"sabotage" to describe a "branch of tactical biology." Infiction, the practice of ecotage was popularized in Edward Abbey's 1975 anarchistic novel The Monkey...
The Left Hand of Darkness is a science fiction novel by the American writer Ursula K. Le Guin. Published in 1969, it became immensely popular, and established...
Utopian and dystopian fiction are subgenres of speculative fiction that explore social and political structures. Utopian fiction portrays a setting that...
biology). It can also refer to science fiction which prioritizes human emotions over the scientific accuracy or plausibility of hard science fiction....
a subject of great interest in fields like astronomy, astrobiology, biochemistry, evolutionary biology, science fiction, and philosophy. Other terms...
Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms in the sea. Given that inbiology many phyla, families and genera have...
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