You've Been Lied To About Genetics

Ah... to grow 1000s of pea plants in a monastery during the 1800s😌

I’d say Mendels is not wrong, in fact he’s super correct on how single genes get inherited. It’s just that there are so many genes and none of them get to exclusively define any describable trait, such that knowing how single genes work don’t really help you understand how describable traits get inherited.

i honestly love how in biology every rule is essentially just "yes, but". makes it so interesting.

I stumbled upon this. I remember discussing many of these very things in biology and related courses back in the eighties. Many of us, including older professors, sensed that early genetic theory was oversimplified. Very good presentation.

I'm a molecular biologist currently teaching in a university. This semester I was given genetics units to teach and most of the content and topics discussed within the course don't make sense to me as a molecular biologist. I wasn't really able to put my finger around it, but I already knew about polygenics, non-Mendelian genetics, epigenetics, and such. However, the way the course I'm currently teaching was designed is highly focused on Mendelian genetics which doesn't fully make sense to me. Thank you for giving me the answer "why".

A better way to think about genetic is that, rather than blueprints, they are a recipe. A lot of factors can go into making an apple pie turn out in a particular way, and it's not just the recipe ad ingredients list.

"It doesn't guarantee anything" but it is probabilistically related in such a way that you can be confident of the outcome in most instances. Appealing to genetic relativism because of fringe cases isn't useful.

I have a feeling that eugenics was the reason that such an oversimplified version became the mainstream textbook curriculum in the first place.

I think it's helpful to point out that many diseases, especially autosomal recessive ones, are in fact on or off by a single gene - while others, and most of our appearance, are far more complicated in origin

DNA is like the body’s firmware. There are functions to do all sorts of things, but whether they’re run depends on a lot of factors. There’s also bugs and malware too. It’s fascinating!

Wow! This one of the most important videos I've watched on YouTube to this day! It took me 65 years if life and approximately half a century since hifh school to learn this most precious lesson. Thank you very very much!

As a biologist, I was taught mendelian genetics in college way back then. It has been a lot of work (but work that I love) keeping up with modern genetics and relearning these concepts. I'm thrilled by the idea that young students will be presented with a more realistic vision of genetics that takes into account the progress that has been done since back then. I do believe that upgrading one's knowledge will always be a task on every scientists "to do" list, but I also don't see any reason basic education should be stuck with the same lessons that is missing so much.

FWIW, when I was taught about Mendel's experiments (more than half a century ago in Croatia, then a part of Yugoslavia), we were warned that there are very few traits that are determined by a single gene, with exactly one dominant and one recessive allele. For elementary school, I think that this suffices.

13:36 I like your subtle insinuation that Trump is for Eugenics. Mendlel lied to you and Orange Man Bad.

It's so nice to see someone clarifying these complex misunderstandings in science. Great video!

I still say that "most of the time" is an operative phrase that is a solid foundation for a healthy, happy and productive society.

Mendel wasn't wrong, his observations just dont apply to all of genetics. If you get past the first week of genetics 101, they clarify the proper application of Mendelian genetics

Um, somebody incapable of understanding what is said is NOT 'They lied to you.'

I've been watching biology videos and documentaries for decades now and this is the first time I've seen someone actually mention the waddington analogy. (or in your other video, mentioned about proteins not just having one function). This is all great stuff, and I hope to see more videos from you!

I was in a human genetics program in the early 80s. At that time the technology for the human genome project was just passed the imaginary state, but still a long way from reality. One of my professors scoffed at the idea that the human genome project would take a long time to complete, and that it would not be very helpful once it was done, his position was that there were not as many genes as the people proposing the project suggested. That turned out to be true and why the project finished much earlier than anticipated. He also said that the genes, although essential, is only the first layer of complexity. The real wild west of genetics was in the control and replication of those genes for which we have almost no understanding.