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Hello, in the 1850s and 60s in a monastery garden in Berno in Moravia, a Franciscan

monk was cultivating peas. He began separating the yellow from the green peas, the wrinkly peas,

from the shiny peas, the wrinkly peas from the shiny peas,

and studied which characteristics were passed on when the next crop of peas were grown.

In this slow and systematic way, Greg or Mendel worked out the basic law of heredity

and stumbled upon what was later to be described as the fundamental unit of life itself, the gene. Mendel's work was ignored when he published its findings in 1865 and it wasn't until the 20th century that he was rediscovered and the

signs of genetics was born. What effect did the discovery of the gene have

retrospectively on Darwin's ideas? How do our genes work upon us and how can we manipulate them?

Much has been said on the morality of genetics, but here to discuss the history and science of the gene,

is Steve Jones, Professor of Genetics at University College London,

an author of many books including the language of genes and almost like a whale,

origin of the species updated.

Also here's Richard Dawkins, Charles Simone Professor of the Public Understanding of Science at

Oxford University, who's the author of books such as The Selfish Gene and Unweaving the Rainbow, and the genetic scientist Linda Partridge, NRC research professor at the Galt Laboratory University

College London.

Steve Jones, let's start with Mandel.

Why did he choose peas? How did he go about it and how did he, when did he know he made some sort of breakthrough enough to publish which you do?

Big questions, unfortunately I don't have my slides with me.

He chose peas because they differ from each other in

striking characters, discrete and different characters. Menel's great strength was

...