Gregor Mendel

In the mid [blank_start]nineteenth[blank_end] century, a [blank_start]priest[blank_end] named Gregor Mendel tended a [blank_start]garden[blank_end] in a central [blank_start]European[blank_end] monastery. Mendel's [blank_start]experiments[blank_end] in that peaceful garden would one day revolutionize the study of [blank_start]heredity[blank_end]. Mendel wondered why different [blank_start]pea plants[blank_end] had different [blank_start]characteristics[blank_end]. Some pea plants grew tall, while others were [blank_start]short[blank_end]. Some plants produced green seeds, while others had [blank_start]yellow[blank_end] seeds. Mendel observed that the pea plants' [blank_start]traits[blank_end] were often similar to those of their [blank_start]parents[blank_end]. Sometimes, however, the plants had [blank_start]different[blank_end] traits from their parents. Mendel experimented with [blank_start]thousands[blank_end] of pea plants to understand the process of heredity. Today, Mendel's experiments form the foundation of [blank_start]genetics,[blank_end] the scientific study of heredity.