As you begin your study of genetics, imagine yourself as a person at halftime on an amazing journey of discovery. The last 100 years have witnessed a remarkable revolution in human knowledge about how biological systems are put together and how they work. Genetics has been at the epicenter of that revolution. Genetic analysis has answered many fundamental questions about the transmission of genetic information within families, inside cells, and over the eons of evolutionary time. Yet, as you will learn, the discovery process in genetics has never been more dynamic and the pace of growth in knowledge never greater. Unanswered questions abound.
How do all the genes in the genome work together to transform a fertilized egg into an adult organism?
How do cells manage to seamlessly orchestrate the incredibly complex array of interacting genes and biochemical reactions that are found within them?
How do genetic variants at hundreds or even thousands of genes control the yield of crop plants?
How can genetics guide both the prevention and treatment of cancer, autism, and other diseases?
How do genes give humans the capacity for language and consciousness?
Genetic analysis over the next 100 years promises to help answer many questions like these.