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Mendel did groundbreaking work into the theories of heredity. Using simple pea plants, Mendel studied seven basic characteristics of the pea plants. By tracing these characteristics, Mendel discovered three basic laws which governed the passage of a trait from one member of a species to another member of the same species.
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The history of genetics started with the work of Gregor Mendel.
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Based on Mendel's studies, Friedrich Miescher discovers a weak acid in the nuclei of white blood cells that today we call DNA
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Flemming investigated the process of cell division and the distribution of chromosomes to the daughter nuclei, a process he called mitosis. He studied mitosis using the source of biological material as the fins and gills of salamanders.
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His theory was that the Mendelian laws of inheritance (primary tenets relating to the transmission of hereditary characteristics from parent organisms to their offspring) could be applied to chromosomes at the cellular level of living organisms. This is now known as the Boveri-Sutton chromosome theory.
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Morgan was able to demonstrate that genes are carried on chromosomes and are the mechanical basis of heredity. These discoveries formed the basis of the modern science of genetics.
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Sturtevant published the world's first genetic map. The idea of gene linkage came to him in a flash one night. Sturtevant realized that genes were linked in a series, and data as to how these genes were linked could be deduced by building the "right" Drosophila mutant.
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Brachet was able to show that DNA was found in chromosomes and that RNA was present in the cytoplasm of all cells.
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Both showed that genes control individual steps in metabolism.
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The Avery–MacLeod–McCarty experiment was an experimental demonstration by Oswald Avery, Colin MacLeod, and Maclyn McCarty, that DNA is the substance that causes bacterial transformation.
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The Hershey–Chase experiments were a series of experiments by Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase, confirming that DNA was the genetic material, which had first been demonstrated in the 1944 Avery–MacLeod–McCarty experiment.
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Albert Levan was the first person to recognize the normal number of human chromosomes, 46, instead of 48, as previously believed.
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Restriction enzymes were discovered in studies of a bacterium, Haemophilus influenzae, enabling scientists to cut and paste DNA
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Walter Fiers and his team at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology of the University of Ghent were the first to determine the sequence of a gene: the gene for bacteriophage MS2 coat protein.
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The human gene that encodes the CFTR protein was sequenced by Francis Collins and Lap-Chee Tsui. Defects in this gene cause cystic fibrosis.
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First draft sequences of the human genome are released simultaneously by the Human Genome Project and Celera Genomics.
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Successful completion of Human Genome Project with 99% of the genome sequenced to a 99.99%
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Scientists at The Hospital for Sick Children Brigham, Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School made the unexpected discovery that significant differences can exist in the overall content of DNA and genes contained in individual genomes.
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Drs. Larry Young and Elizabeth Hammock, of Emory University, using the native vole, traced social behavior traits, such as monogamy, to seeming glitches in DNA that determines when and where a gene turns on.
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The new science of epigenetics rewrites the rules of disease, heredity, and identity.
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Using a theory based on classical hydrodynamics, a Northwestern University researcher explained the nature of the resistive force that determines the speed of the DNA as it moves through the nanopore, which is just five to 10 nanometers wide. This understanding could help scientists figure out how to slow the DNA down enough to make it readable and usable -- for medical and biotechnology applications, in particular.
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Taiwanese biologists have discovered a link between a protein-modifying enzyme and a specific gene sequence that could help researchers better understand the consequences of unwanted gene activations and ultimately the cause of some cancers
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Scientists identified how a protein enables sections of so-called junk DNA to be cut and pasted within genetic code – a finding which could speed development of gene therapies.
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New findings should serve as a "stark warning" to those considering taking up cigarette smoking
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Researchers at the Smithsonian's National Zoo's new genetics lab use animal DNA to diagnose new diseases, help in conservation efforts and solve mysteries.
