In the recent years, intermediate redshift (0 to 1) galaxies have been 
observed in various deep fields, allowing the determination of stellar 
masses, star formation rates (SFR), and their distribution. One of the 
interesting results from these studies is the fact that the stellar mass 
function for star-forming galaxies is ~ constant. I will show how this 
fact can be coupled with ?backward? models of the evolution of our 
Galaxy and spiral galaxies in order to bring insights in the cosmic 
history of galaxies and the cosmic fate of Milky Way siblings. Another 
application is the comparison of these stellar masses and SFR functions 
with those obtained for Gamma Ray Bursts (GRB) host galaxies. I will 
show that this comparison allows us to characterize the variation of the 
GRB bias with the metallicity of the progenitor.