"Genetics is the study of how genes are transmitted across generations, which includes the genetic information that produces an individual's traits, physical characteristics, and diseases. This recent branch of biology has transformed medicine, agriculture, biotechnology, and pharmacology. DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), which contains the blueprint necessary for the development of all living things, is central to heredity and is often the focus of genetics."
"Beginning in the 4th century BCE, the ancient Greeks wondered about the transmission of hereditary traits between generations, suggesting that specific body parts of children were inherited from their parents' corresponding body parts. However, sometimes children looked less like their parents and more like another relative, according to Aristotle (384-322 BCE). He further believed that it was the father who passed along the physical characteristics, while the mother created the appropriate environment, which aided the child's development."
Genetics studies how genes are transmitted across generations and how genetic information produces traits, physical characteristics, and diseases. DNA contains the blueprint necessary for development of living organisms and is central to heredity. Genetic testing enables identification of conditions that may require treatment. Genetic engineering allows alteration or creation of specific DNA characteristics for desired traits. Ancient Greek ideas attributed trait transmission to parental body parts and blood, while later advances such as microscopy and nineteenth-century research established cells and principles of trait dominance foundational to modern genetics.
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