Customer Reviews

Gregor Mendel: Planting the Seeds of Genetics

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Genetics must be one of the least understood of the biological sciences. Both layman and professional have misconstrued genetic principles in order to fit their preconceived notions on race, intelligence, inheritance and superiority. Thus any good historical introduction to the subject is helpful in clearing away the fog. Simon Mawer is the author of such a book - "Gregor Mendel: Planting the Seeds of Genetics." This is a short, well-illustrated, telling of the history of genetics, appropriately centered on the work and life of Gregor Mendel. Over half (89 pages) is devoted to Mendel's work during his life and the rest of the book to the "re-discovery" of his research by De Vries and Correns and the developments afterwards, including the discovery that DNA was the source of variation, the elucidation of the chemical structure of DNA, "jumping genes," and other positive developments, along with the negative developments produced through eugenics in the United States and Europe, and Lysenkoism in Russia. It is a generally well-written book and my main complaint is that the union of genetics with selection theory into the Synthetic Theory of Evolution is not mentioned, but this may have more to do with the shortness and primary focus of the book than a real oversight.

Mawer does discuss the cutting-edge research brought on by the discovery of transposons ("jumping genes") and of the fact that the human genome has many fewer genes than expected for the number of proteins involved. Thus the "one gene, one protein" concept proposed by Beadle and Tatum is apparently not accurate. The result is that in the 21st Century researchers have ushered in the study of epigenetics in which genetics is conceived to be much more complicated than originally thought and in which environmental factors may actually help alter genomes.

Mawer has written a very good introduction to Mendel's discoveries and the resulting later developments. I recommend his book to those who would have some interest in the historical development of genetics. It is my opinion that science can be best understood in a historical context and this book fits very well into that view.