Heredity Before Mendel: Festetics and the Question of Sheep's Wool in Central Europe

Peter Poczai

ISBN 10: 103201508X / ISBN 13: 9781032015088

Published by Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2022

About this Item

New copy - Usually dispatched within 4 working days.

Seller Inventory # B9781032015088

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Heredity Before Mendel: Festetics and the Question of Sheep's Wool in Central Europe
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Publication Date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 103201508X
• ISBN 13: 9781032015088
• Binding: Paperback / softback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 508 grams

About this title

Synopsis

The history of Science is replete with untold stories and this book is one of these accounts. The author shares a narrative of heredity, an active topic of inquiry long before Gregor Mendel – the father of genetics – planted his peas. One such interlude unfolded in Mendel’s home city and involved the sheep breeder, Imre Festetics. He sought to improve wool and proposed important rules of heredity. Unfortunately, aspects of wool quality, now known to be polygenic, complicate interpretations of the work of Festetics and explain why it is neglected. The forebearers of Mendel never get the credit they deserve. Heredity Before Mendel resurrects Festetics, the grandfather of heredity.

Key Features

1) Documents a vibrant community of scholars interested in heredity before Mendel

2) Highlights the work of Imre Festetics, the forgotten grandfather of genetics

3) Desribes political repression which stifled the nascent foundation of heredity research

4) Emphasizes the role sheep and wool played as the first model system of genetics

5) Challenges19th century taboos in Moravia leading to malicious rumors about the inbred royal House of Austria (Habsburgs).

About the Author

Péter Poczai is Curator at the Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, Finland. He received his PhD from the University of Pannonia, Keszthely, Hungary. He is the author or co-author of dozens of scientific peer reviewed journal articles.