The entry charts some of the changing relationships between sociology and biology and between biology and society. Since the early eighteenth century, the disciplines of biology and sociology have mutually influenced each other. Insights from biology, such as evolution, inspired new thinking about society – for good or for ill. After the advent of genetics and genomics, sociologists and biologists increasingly sought to understand how scientific knowledge about biology is produced, how it influences society, and how society shapes how knowledge about biology emerges. A new field in sociology has emerged, called biology and society, which is increasingly institutionalized through dedicated journals and handbooks.