Many of the sub-disciplines of biology, such as botany, zoology, and medicine are ancient. However, biology as a unified science first developed in the nineteenth century, as scientists discovered that all living things shared certain fundamental characteristics and were best studied as a whole. Today biology is one of the most prominent scientific fields. Over a million papers are published annually in a wide array of biology and medicine journals,<ref>''Biology: A Functional Approach'' By Michael Bliss Vaughan Roberts. Cheltenham: Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1986. pg. 1 </ref> and biology is a standard subject of instruction at schools and universities around the world. | Many of the sub-disciplines of biology, such as botany, zoology, and medicine are ancient. However, biology as a unified science first developed in the nineteenth century, as scientists discovered that all living things shared certain fundamental characteristics and were best studied as a whole. Today biology is one of the most prominent scientific fields. Over a million papers are published annually in a wide array of biology and medicine journals,<ref>''Biology: A Functional Approach'' By Michael Bliss Vaughan Roberts. Cheltenham: Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1986. pg. 1 </ref> and biology is a standard subject of instruction at schools and universities around the world. |