Biology (A)

Introduction

Although Mendel laid the foundation for modern genetics, there were still a lot of questions left unanswered. How is inheritance determined for traits that do not seem to follow a simple dominant-recessive pattern? What exactly are the hereditary factors that determine traits in organisms? And how do these factors work? One of the great achievements of this past century was the discovery of DNA as the genetic material. And it is the DNA that makes up the hereditary factors that Mendel identified. By applying our modern knowledge of DNA and chromosomes, we can explain Mendel’s findings and build on them.