Genetics For Dummies, 3rd Edition

Chapter 21

Ten Defining Events in Genetics

IN THIS CHAPTER

Appreciating the history of genetics

Highlighting the people behind great discoveries

Many milestones define the history of genetics. This chapter focuses on nine that we don’t cover in other chapters of the book and one that we do (the Human Genome Project is so important that we cover it in Chapter 8 and here, too). The events listed here appear roughly in order of historical occurrence.

The Publication of Darwin’s “The Origin of Species”

Earthquakes have aftershocks — little mini-earthquakes that rattle around after the main quake. Events in history sometimes cause aftershocks, too. The publication of one man’s life’s work is such an event. From the moment it hit the shelves in 1856, Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species was deeply controversial (and still is).

The basis of evolution is elegantly simple: Individual organisms vary in their ability to survive and reproduce. For example, a sudden cold snap occurs, and most individuals of a certain bird species die because they can’t tolerate the rapid drop in temperature. But individuals of the same species that can tolerate the unexpected freeze survive and reproduce. As long as the ability to deal with rapid temperature drops is heritable, the trait is passed to future ...