Human uses of living things of genes. Basic biological research has often been done with plants. In genetics, the breeding of pea plants allowed Gregor Mendel to derive the basic laws governing inheritance, and examination of chromosomes in maize allowed Barbara McClintock to demonstrate their connection to inherited traits. The plant "Arabidopsis thaliana" is used in laboratories as a model organism to understand how genes control the growth and development of plant structures. Space stations or space colonies may one day rely on plants for life support. Vaccines have been made using animals since their discovery by Edward Jenner in the 18th century. He noted
Human genetics medical genetics. Inheritance of traits for humans are based upon Gregor Mendel's model of inheritance. Mendel deduced that inheritance depends upon discrete units of inheritance, called factors or genes. Autosomal traits are associated with a single gene on an autosome (non-sex chromosome)—they are called "dominant" because a single copy—inherited from either parent—is enough to cause this trait to appear. This often means that one of the parents must also have the same trait, unless it has arisen due to an unlikely new mutation. Examples of autosomal dominant traits and disorders are Huntington's disease and achondroplasia. Autosomal recessive traits is one