Genetics in Biology Class
by Tyler Tryon
February 01, 2010
The students in Biology I, are learning about genetics. Gregor Mendel was known as the father of genetics. He was an Austrian monk who experimented with pea plants. He conducted his experiments on peas. The classes are also learning about how traits can be passed from parents to children. They also discovered how this can cause problems in genetic disorders.
Gregor Mendel conducted the experiments by first self pollinating the peas. All the peas were the same. Later he decided to mix plants with contrasting traits from these experiments he learned how traits are passed from parent to offspring. It is these basics that the biology students are learning about.
Levi Thompson said, “I like learning about the human body.”
Students are learning how to use a punnet square and how genetic factors affect how a child will live such as strength, speed, or how smart they are. To understand this they are taking a lot of notes.
Finally, Biology Classes are learning that a disease can pass one generation and affect the next through recessive genes. They are also learning the impact that genetic diseases have on the families. In order to fix these diseases the proper genes must first be identified. They learned about this from a video that they watched. It was the beginning of this work that landed Gregor Mendel in the history book as the father of modern day genetics.
Lorenzo Mendez said, “It’s a very fun class and I like it.”
