When most people think of genetics, they think of a modern, high-tech science, with men in lab coats doing strange
things to cells. What they don''t realise is that the science of genetics was invented by a 19th Century monk who enjoyed a spot of gardening.
Gregor Mendel was born in 1822 in what is now the Czech Republic, the son of poor peasant farmers. Although he did well at school, his parents could not afford to send him to university, so he went instead to the Augustinian
monastery at Brunn1. After studying there for some time, he moved to the University of Vienna in Austria to study science and mathematics. After failing his exams for a teaching degree, Mendel returned to the monastery where he became Abbot and spent the rest of his life.
Mendel''s Garden
The monastery at Brunn was blessed with large and beautiful gardens, and Mendel was a keen gardener. It was during his work in the garden that he began to take a close interest in garden peas. He noticed that peas had certain characteristics that seemed to be passed from
generation to generation. For example, plants with peas that were green had offspring with green peas, while those with yellow peas produced yellow offspring. Over seven years, Mendel carried out an enormous number of experiments with these plants, studying characteristics such as height, seed shape, seed colour and flower colour. Despite knowing nothing about DNA2 or the biochemistry of inheritance, Mendel developed his two ''Laws of Heredity'', which remain the basis of modern genetics.
l''s Garden