Genetics is the branch of biology concerned with heredity and variation.Variation is produced by the transmission of genes from parents to offspring. Some traits are dominant while others are recessive and, along with mutations, contribute to the differences seen among offspring.
The science of genetics was inaugurated by Charles Darwin and Gregor Mendel. Charles Darwin published his theory of evolution in 1858. This theory highlights how natural selection is the driving force behind the advancement of variation within a species. Eight years later, Gregor Mendel published his experimental results on the genetic inheritance of pea plants, showing that some traits had to be present in both parents to be exhibited in their offspring.