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Synopsis Knowledge about hereditary phenomena has been important for a long time. Civilization itself became possible when nomadic tribes learned to domesticate plants and animals. Long before biology existed as a scientific discipline, people selected grains with higher yields and greater vigor and animals with better fur or meat. They puzzled about the inheritance of desirable and undesirable traits in human population. Despite this, the actual basis of inheritance was obscure until discovery of Mendel’s laws. With the wealth of genetic knowledge we now make generalization about DNA, genes, phenotypes and genotypes as though these concepts were self evident. A working knowledge of principles of genetics is essential for making informed decisions on many scientific, political and personal levels.