This question could probably be better answered by someone with a background more similar to your, since, I mean, learning strategies vary not only from person to person but also on where you are coming from and what you want. So, in reading my answer keep in mind: 1. I like linguistics, etymology of words and humanities in general; 2. My native language is Portuguese, which descends from Latin; 3. As a Brazilian, I identify a lot with the Latin Culture; 4. I love the Roman Empire and I am REALLY into Romance languages, although I don't know much about them (many people know more than me). So, given all of this, this is my answer. I do NOT think it is useful to memorize Latin of Greek vocabulary to learn biology IF you do NOT want to pursue studies in that area (health sciences), because the cost will simply outweigh the benefits (ie. it would be simpler to just straightforwardly study biology, rather than going all the way to studying those languages, in order to learn it). I DO think it will be useful, though, if you want to study something related to the health area, because than the amount of things you'll need to know by the end of your (under)-graduation will be so huge that learning some Greek and Latin roots will not only improve your understanding and apprehension of new vocabulary, but you will simply need it if you ever want to really learn everything (rather than being a detour, Latin and Greek will then be a shortcut for you). If you speak a romance language, then i think that lowers the costs of learning greek and (specially) latin roots, so maybe it would then be worth it even if you don't want to study biology in the future. But then, I must say studying those roots (specially latin) will be useful in MANY other areas other than biology (history, law, learning a different language etc), so you might consider learning a bit of those roots for other reasons than just making biology easier.