Gregor Mendel’s Early Life and Contributions to Genetics: Biography Essay

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Gregor Mendel was born on July 22, 1822, and died on January 6, 1884. He was raised in a rural environment. His academic strength was exhibited at a remarkably young age by local priests, who convinced his parents that he was qualified to attend school. Mendel soon demonstrated substantial intelligence in subjects regarding physics and mathematics at the University of Olmütz. Though he found prosperity in school, he often endured financial challenges, as his family was incapable of providing the right amount of money. Likewise, he consistently worked vigorously by tutoring other students in order to make a sufficient amount of money. Through all this distress, Mendel suffered severe depression, causing him to possess a bad outlook on life.

Though Mendels father expected him to take over their small farm, he took matters into his own hands by moving to Brünn, where he became a priest, but soon after adjusted to a teaching position. However, he was sent to the University of Vienna to partake in a two-year science program due to his failure to pass an exam implemented by the new legislation for teacher certification. Within those years, he studied the anatomy and physiology of plants and ways to oversee specimens under a microscope. Though he went back to teaching to attempt the exam once again, he failed due to several nervous breakdowns. Nonetheless, these years were the most successful regarding learning and interpreting different strands of biology.

Mendel is highly recognized for his honorary article dubbed Experiments of Plant Hybrids, which expressed the garden pea and common bean experiments he conducted. This helped him identify several characteristics of hybrids in order to trace the mechanisms of hereditary components from hybrid progeny. Even though the paper is more than 150 years old, it is still broadly studied due to its comprehensive expertise that can be used for education and furthering experiments in the modern era. Additionally, Mendel used his results from hybrid progeny to further his results on the cell theory associated with fertilization. He concluded that the hybrid must have momentary accommodations in two contrasting characteristics when they form germ cells, which is now identified as the law of segregation.

To conclude, it is evident that Mendel has established many of the foundational interpretations of genetics, leading him to be known as the founder of genetics. Though Mendels efforts were not appreciated while he was alive, his work was more accessible and helpful in the 1900s from the rare historical sources that knew about his work. Mendels inventive prospect is still admired today and is noted in several textbooks that focus on genetics.

References

  1. Dijk, P. J. van, Weissing, F. J., & Ellis, T. H. N. (2018, October 1). How Mendel’s Interest in Inheritance Grew out of Plant Improvement. Retrieved from https://www.genetics.org/content/210/2/347
  2. Gregor Mendel. (2019). In Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved from https://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/Gregor-Mendel/51973

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