I'm sure everyone wants to know why they have the color eyes they have, or why you have blond hair when your parents have brown. Or at least I do. This all has to do with Genetics, which is the science of Heredity,dealing with resemblances and differences of related organisms resulting from the interaction of their genes and the environment. Gregor Mendel is known as "The Father of Genetics" because he was the only scientist who wrote down each day about what he had discovered about pea plants and their genes.
Three interesting facts about Genetics are...
1. Throughout Mendel's lifetime he ended up making 287 crosses between 70 different purebred plants.
Comment: To me, i think that's absolutely incredible. That must have kept Gregor Mendel quite busy!
2. Mendel observed seven traits when working with pea plants. They were...
1) Flower color is either purple or white.
2) Flower position is axil (angled) or terminal (growing at the end of a branch or stem)
3) Stem length is either long or short
4) Seed shape is round or wrinkled
5) Seed color is yellow or green
6) Pod shape is inflated (to swell or puff out) or constricted (smaller or narrower)
7) Pod color is yellow or green
Comment: These facts reminded me a lot about the Punnett Squares we did in class. For example... TT=tall and tt=short. This would be an example of number three.
3. Other Scientists before Mendel believed in "The Blending Theory" this means that the traits blend from generation to generation. However, this theory is incorrect.
Comment: Before I found out about Gregor Mendel and his discoveries I, too, thought that traits blend from generation to generation. Mendel's Pea Experiment has showed me that traits can disappear in one generation and reappear in a later generation.
This scientific topic on Genetics told me that these major discoveries by Gregor Mendel and how they showed large amouts of knowledge in the innner-workings of life. This has truly showed me how some diseases and genes are passed on from generation to generation. From learning about Gregor Mendel and his observations in class, it has really helped me understand a lot about Genetics.
The follow websites are where i got all my information from...
The first one is called...Gregor Mendel- Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregor_Mendel
Next is called... Basic Principles of Genetics: Mendels Genetics
www.anthro.palomar.edu/mendel/mendel_1.htm
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