bio- Look up bio- at Dictionary.com
from Gk. bio-, comb. form of bios "one's life, course or way of living, lifetime" (as opposed to zoe "animal life, organic life"), from PIE base *gweie- "to live" (cf. Skt. jivah "alive, living;" O.E. cwic "alive;" L. vivus "living, alive," vita "life;" M.Pers. zhiwak "alive;" O.C.S. zivo "to live;" Lith. gyvas "living, alive;" O.Ir. bethu "life," bith "age;" Welsh byd "world"). Equivalent of L. vita. The correct usage is that in biography, but in modern science it has been extended to mean "organic life."