Genetics Mendel's studies of the nature of inheritance in plants. In his paper ""Versuche über Pflanzenhybriden"" ("Experiments on Plant Hybridization"), presented in 1865 to the "Naturforschender Verein" (Society for Research in Nature) in Brünn, Mendel traced the inheritance patterns of certain traits in pea plants and described them mathematically. Although this pattern of inheritance could only be observed for a few traits, Mendel's work suggested that heredity was particulate, not acquired, and that the inheritance patterns of many traits could be explained through simple rules and ratios. The importance of Mendel's work did not gain wide understanding until 1900, after his
Genetics inherit traits from their parents has been used since prehistoric times to improve crop plants and animals through selective breeding. The modern science of genetics, seeking to understand this process, began with the work of the Augustinian friar Gregor Mendel in the mid-19th century. Prior to Mendel, Imre Festetics, a Hungarian noble, who lived in Kőszeg before Mendel, was the first who used the word "genetics." He described several rules of genetic inheritance in his work "The genetic law of the Nature" (Die genetische Gesätze der Natur, 1819). His second law is the same as what Mendel published. In his