Health

Genetics: Where it all began

An exhibit on the works of Gregor Mendel will tour the country for the next two years.

By Victoria Stagg Elliott — Posted Oct. 9, 2006

Print  |   Email  |   Respond  |   Reprints  |   Like Facebook  |   Share Twitter  |   Tweet Linkedin

Little green peas. ... And yellow ones, too.

Who would have guessed they could play an important role in unlocking clues about heredity? One person clearly did.

Gregor Mendel, a 19th-century friar and high school science teacher, conducted studies on ordinary peas that are now credited with forming the basis of modern genetic science. An exhibition detailing his research opened last month at Chicago's Field Museum and will be traveling around the country over the next two years.

"Mendel's work with peas amounted to a revolution," said Neil Shubin, PhD, the museum's provost. "He opened the way for us to understand how our bodies are built."

Mendel, who worked in an abbey in Brno in what is now the Czech Republic, used mathematics, meticulous note-taking and thousands of pea plants -- 28,000 actual plants and more than 300,000 peas -- to learn that what he termed "elements," now called genes, carried traits from one generation to the next. He also determined that some were recessive while others were dominant. Though his discoveries were first published in 1865, they were initially ignored. When they were rediscovered in 1900, they triggered an explosion in genetic research.

"Virtually every major genetic discovery ultimately owes a debt to Mendel and his work with peas," Dr. Shubin said.

On display are Mendel's microscope and slides as well as numerous letters, journals and books. These objects, many of which have never before traveled outside Europe, are accompanied by several modern art pieces exploring genetic themes.

"This exhibit presents an exciting opportunity to broaden people's understanding of genetics beyond human diseases and the Human Genome Project," said Shannon Hackett, PhD, curator in the Bird Division of the Field's Dept. of Zoology.

The Field's exhibition will continue until April 1, 2007, after which it will be displayed at the National Museum of Health and Medicine in Washington, D.C., from April 28 to Sept. 16, 2007. It will then travel to Columbus, Ohio, from Oct. 13 to Jan. 6, 2008; to Memphis, Tenn., from Feb. 2 to April 27, 2008; and to Philadelphia, from May 24 to Sept. 28, 2008.

Back to top


External links

"Gregor Mendel: Planting the Seeds of Genetics," Field Museum exhibit, Chicago (link)

Back to top


ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISE HERE


Featured
Read story

Confronting bias against obese patients

Medical educators are starting to raise awareness about how weight-related stigma can impair patient-physician communication and the treatment of obesity. Read story


Read story

Goodbye

American Medical News is ceasing publication after 55 years of serving physicians by keeping them informed of their rapidly changing profession. Read story


Read story

Policing medical practice employees after work

Doctors can try to regulate staff actions outside the office, but they must watch what they try to stamp out and how they do it. Read story


Read story

Diabetes prevention: Set on a course for lifestyle change

The YMCA's evidence-based program is helping prediabetic patients eat right, get active and lose weight. Read story


Read story

Medicaid's muddled preventive care picture

The health system reform law promises no-cost coverage of a lengthy list of screenings and other prevention services, but some beneficiaries still might miss out. Read story


Read story

How to get tax breaks for your medical practice

Federal, state and local governments offer doctors incentives because practices are recognized as economic engines. But physicians must know how and where to find them. Read story


Read story

Advance pay ACOs: A down payment on Medicare's future

Accountable care organizations that pay doctors up-front bring practice improvements, but it's unclear yet if program actuaries will see a return on investment. Read story


Read story

Physician liability: Your team, your legal risk

When health care team members drop the ball, it's often doctors who end up in court. How can physicians improve such care and avoid risks? Read story

  • Stay informed
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • LinkedIn