Chemical Biology: a scientific discipline spanning the fields of chemistry, biology, and physics. It involves the application of chemical techniques, tools, and analyses, and often compounds produced through synthetic chemistry, to the study and manipulation of biological systems. Chemical biologists attempt to use chemical principles to modulate systems to either investigate the underlying biology or create new function. Chemicals - including natural small molecules, such as lipids, carbohydrates and metals, or non-natural probe or drug molecules - are used to gain insight into biological problems at a mechanistic level.