What is the definition of Hereditary and who Discovered it?

The definition of hereditary also termed as “heredity” is defined as the major characteristics passed from the genes of one parent to their child. Heredity is also defined as the transferring traits to their offspring from their parents.

In this process, the cells or organisms of offspring attain the genetic details of their parents. Through heredity, dissimilarities among the individuals can accumulate and results in the evolution of species by natural selection. The overall study of heredity is called genetics in biology, which includes the field of epigenetics.

As per the study of genetics, heredity actually has two sides of the same coin named constancy and variation. Both these aspects of heredity can be described by genes. Every member of a species has a definite set of genes defined to that particular species. The constancy of the species has been developed through this set of genes.

Within a specific species among individuals, however, different variations can take place in the form of each gene, provide the genetic basis for the fact that no two individuals (except alike twins) have absolutely the same traits. The different sets of genes that an offspring inherits from both parents, a combo of the genetic characteristics of each, is known as the organism’s genotype.

Heredity Discovery

The basic principles of heredity have been discovered by Gregor Mendel, an Austrian monk who has gone through experiments in his garden to achieve this. Mendel's inspection became the fundamental of modern genetics and the study of heredity, and he is widely known as an architect in the field of genetics.

Gregor Mendel, who was known as the "father of modern genetics," born in Austria in 1822. This monk explained through his experiments that the inheritance of certain traits in pea plants follows particular patterns, which then successively became the foundation of modern genetics and leading to the study of heredity.