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Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Early Ideas/Beliefs About Heredity

Hippocrates:
Greek philosopher Hippocrates believed that every part of the parents produced "seeds," which would fuse together to create the offspring

Aristotle:
Aristotle believed that male and female semen mixed upon conception.

George Harvey
English physician George Harvey theorized that individuals arose through the process of epigenesis; he believed that embryos formed in stages and that their development could be affected by factors inside and outside of the mother.  

Anton van Leeuwenhoek
This dutch scientist, who invented the microscope, believed that each sperm contained preformed embryos and that the development of the offspring was controlled by the male parent. On the other hand, mothers had almost no effect on the offspring, except providing an environment for the embroys to develop.

Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin believed that the offspring contained variations of traits from both parents. However, he couldn't explain why.

Pangenesis
The belief that each organ contains "genes," which travel through blood, the parents' genitals, and into the children.

Blending Traits:
The belief that offsprings are the "mix" of the parents. (e,g, red flowers and blue flowers would produce purple flowers)