Heredity

Written by: Himani Bhattarai - 2023017, Grade IX

Posted on: 13 October, 2020

Heredity is the trait that is passed on from one generation to another. Heredity occurs in all living organisms. and genetics is the biology of heredity. All organisms inherit the genetic traits of their biological parents. These traits could be physical appearance, behavior (phenotypes), and diseases as well. Phenotypes are the features that can be physically seen whereas genotypes are the genetic characteristics that we carry. Genetics and heredity are the reasons why we look like our parents. Heredity is seen clearly or mostly in sexual reproduction because in sexual reproduction the variation of inherited characteristics is high. Heredity is very important in a living organism as it shows the traits that are transferred from parents to offspring. The scientific study of heredity had discovered DNA, chromosomes, and genes. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a molecule that carries genetic information in all living organisms, the chromosome is a long DNA molecule which contains part of all the genetic material of living organisms and genes are the physical and functional unit of heredity.

There were various theories related to heredity which were developed in ancient Greece during the fourth century B.C. which stated that information from each part of the parent had to be communicated to create the corresponding body part in the offspring. A greek philosopher Aristotle who is often regarded as the father of biology had stated that individuals sometimes resemble remote ancestors more closely than their immediate parents along with it he had also stated that the male parent provided the miniature individual and the female provided a supportive environment in which it would grow. Aristotle had given many contributions in biology and this is also regarded as one of his most important contributions in biology. One of the most important things that were discovered about heredity was the idea that “members of a population who are better adapted to their environment will be the ones most likely to survive and transfer their traits on the next generation.” It was stated in  “The  Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection” in 1859 by Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace. Besides these, there were many more theories related to heredity and genetics.

References:
http://www.genomequebec-education-formations.com/education-concept-heredity-en
https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/science-magazines/history-genetics