Ironically, another important discovery that probably would have changed Darwin's views (and maybe have saved him some embarrassment from endorsing pangenesis) appeared shortly after Darwin had published The Origin of Species.
Gregor Mendel, a monk-turned-scientist, was born in the present day Czech Republic to a farming family (DNA Watson). He excelled as a child in the local school of his village, but his later endeavors as an adult flailed; he failed his teaching exam twice and had a nervous breakdown trying to become a parish priest (DNA Watson). At the request of his father superior, Abbot Napp, Mendel tried his hand at some scientific experiments involving heredity. Using an ingenious design, Mendel crossbred two strains of the plant (one with green peas, the other with yellow peas) and noted the ratios of the resulting progeny (Monk and Two Peas, notes 407). His results led him to realize that specific factors (what we now call genes) are passed from parent to offspring in pairs, one "factor" from each parent (DNA Watson). From his ratios and observations Mendel also deduced that certain factors were dominant over others, or stated another way, certain factors receded to other, more dominant factors (Monk and Two Peas, Notes 407). Despite the impressive discoveries of Mendel, his work would go ignored by the scientific community for another 35 years (DNA Watson). Around the time of Mendel's death in 1884, improving optics of microscopes led to the discovery of the minute cellular architecture, later termed the "chromosome" (DNA Watson). It wasn't until 1902 that the chromosome and Gregor Mendel met up.
Walter Sutton, a medical student at Columbia University, recognized the similarities between the chromosomes and Mendel's research, more specifically, his "certain factors" (DNA Watson). Sutton saw that chromosomes were doubled-up, just like Mendel's paired factors, but he also identified a type of cell in which they were not paired (DNA Watson).
DNA! ... DNA! Some call it the miracle molecule, or the magic molecule. ... What, indeed, is Christianity's interest in such things as DNA and the Human Genome Initiative? ... The latter piercing a bit the mystery of God's will for his creation is the task of all of us. ...
Human Genome Project (HGP) Introduction: To discover the mystery of the universe is the dream of every scientist. Since human is a part of the universe, therefore to solve the question of explaining the miracle of life is the aim of most scientists. ... Or else if we know too much about human's DNA, the theory of Eugenics may lead to others big problems that out of expectation. ... Every cell has the same DNA. ... French scientist Weissenbach and D.Cohen invented another method to cut DNA into fragments. ...
It s like a puzzle with lost pieces or a mystery with missing clues. It beckons not just the researcher but all of us to press on until all the pieces are found and its mystery is revealed. Yet it was the mystery that makes it a captivating topic for study. ...
The diversity of views concerning the relation of science and religion today can be grouped under four basic headings. The first heading is Conflict and includes proponents of a philosophy of materialism, on the one hand, and advocates of biblical literalism or creationism, on the other. The secon...
