Heroes and Cultural Identity Project

SCE Heroes - Gregor Mendel

The FATHER OF GENETICS

by Junko Rielly




GREGOR MENDEL (1822 - 1884)

'Every people have inherited characteristics from each parent. They are determined and controlled by genes…' This is one of our common sense in modern society, but before the invention of better microscopes in 1890's, it was not the same.

Gregor Mendel was the first person who demonstrated to show the basic idea of heredity at the time. Unlike many other scientists who work on their research in laboratories, he was an Austrian monk who taught natural science to high school students. His passion for study of plants and interest in meteorology and theories of evolution led him to the famous experimental work with pea plants (Pisum sativum) in the monastery. After having seven years of experiments 'Experiments with Plant Hybrids' was published in 1865. However, it was not considered as significant until 1900. The work sought for the basic mechanism of inheritance through selective-breeding, which produced an average proportion of dominant: recessive characters in certain numerical ratios. This idea is now largely considered as laws of heredity.
Although his work is somewhat controversial, it is clear that he laid the foundation for modern genetics.

It was after his death when his study was brought into the spotlight. I find it interesting that scepticism always plays a role in our analytical mind. Or we need to open up our mind a bit more?

Junko Rielly is a science student following a one year university access course in biological sciences.