Darwin and Inheritance - for iPad/Mac/PC: Recent Episodes
The Open University
How are genetic traits handed down through generations? How did you inherit your grandfather's red hair whilst your parents are both black-haired? Even Charles Darwin himself never really understood the causes behind this. This album traces the development of our understanding of the laws of inheritance. The tracks on this album, drawn from an Open University programme first broadcast in 1998, explore the discoveries of scientists such as the botanist Mendel, and the chemist Friedrich Miescher who first identified DNA, and see how they come together with Darwin's theory of evolution to form the concepts which lie at the heart of modern genetics. Contributors include Richard Dawkins, Colin Tudge, John Maynard Smith, Steven Rose and Steve Jones.
Darwin's Theory of Evolution lacked a credible explanation for characteristics which skipped generations.
Transcript -- Darwin's Theory of Evolution lacked a credible explanation for characteristics which skipped generations.
The story of Mendel who in the 1850's observed hereditary patterns in plants such as the pea.
Transcript -- The story of Mendel who in the 1850's observed hereditary patterns in plants such as the pea.
Darwin travels to Galapagos Islands and is confused by the variations within species such as finches.
Transcript -- Darwin travels to Galapagos Islands and is confused by the variations within species such as finches.
Only in the 1930's was it realised that it is not attributes that are passed on but genes.
Transcript -- Only in the 1930's was it realised that it is not attributes that are passed on but genes.
Miescher speculates that DNA could provide the missing piece of the puzzle of how the laws of inheritance worked physically. .
Transcript -- Miescher speculates that DNA could provide the missing piece of the puzzle of how the laws of inheritance worked physically. .