It’s a commonly observed habit in families to draw likenesses between members of the youngest generation and their ancestors. “This baby has a smile like her mother,” one would say, or, “He has exactly the temperament of his grandfather.” This project may be extended by some to even saying, “X writes so well, she has inherited this from her eldest aunt.” If someone should be outstandingly brilliant in math or history, quick follows the comment – “It’s all in the genes.”
Now, many of these traits may not be heritable, or little is known about whether they are inherited. So these statements often are mere speculations; however, they are speculations supported by a pervasive and instinctive knowledge of the laws of genetics and the mechanism of genes and heredity. Of course, it’s one thing to pull out statements like this based on purely anecdotal occurrences and quite another to demonstrate them through years of careful experimentation.
The latter is what Gregor Mendel did. In the 1860s, much before the gene was discovered or the term ‘genetics’ was coined, Mendel, a monk of the order of St. Augustine, discovered the cornerstone of genetics – the laws of Mendelian inheritance— using a methodical approach that is the envy of scientists even today. For this, he later came to be celebrated as the father of genetics.
