Welcome to the Department of Biology!

The Department of Biology trains undergraduate and graduate students in fundamental biological science. Our graduate research programs prepare scientists for careers in academia, industry and government and enhance our understanding of the central role of biological systems in the global environment.

The Department of Biology is responsible for introducing biological principles to students in every Texas A&M University major. We provide modern and comprehensive B.S. and B.A. curricula in Biology, Molecular and Cell Biology, Microbiology and Zoology for more than 1500 undergraduate biology majors. These degrees prepare students for various life science careers and are an excellent entrée to the health care professions.

The Department of Biology grants Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in Biology, Microbiology and Zoology. These degrees offer outstanding training opportunities in cell and molecular biology, developmental biology, and behavioral and evolutionary biology.

In The News

Why Do We Choose Our Mates? Ask Charles Darwin, Prof Says

Charles Darwin wrote about it 150 years ago: animals don’t pick their mates by pure chance – it’s a process that is deliberate and involves numerous factors. After decades of examining his work, experts agree that he pretty much scored a scientific bullseye, but a very big question is, “What have we learned since then?” asks a Texas A&M University biologist who has studied Darwin’s theories.

Adam Jones, an evolutional biologist who has studied Darwin’s work for years, says that Darwin’s beliefs about the choice of mates and sexual selection being beyond mere chance have been proven correct, as stated in Darwin’s landmark book The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex. His work has withstood decades of analysis and scrutiny, as Jones states in his paper, “Mate Choice and Sexual Selection: What Have We Learned Since Darwin?” in the current Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. more...

Greater spear-nosed bats form maternal tribes that go to war with each other

Each tribe comprises up to 25 unrelated females who stick together for years.

Not only do these females cooperate to roost and find food, they fly in to rescue each other's infants from danger.

And given the chance, female members of one tribe will try to capture and kill the pups of neighbouring tribes, researchers report in Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology.

"We were surprised by the aggression between adults and towards pups from other social groups," says Kirsten Bohn, now at Texas A&M University in College Station, US. more...

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