Question about Biology

Question

What was the work that demonstrated that inheritance is not blending but rather particulate? What makes particulate inheritance different from blending inheritance? If this work was done before the publication of On the Origin of Species (1859), why was Darwin never aware of it throughout his life?

Answer 1

Mendel's pea plant experiments demonstrated that inheritance doesn't need to be strictly blending, but is actually particulate. When he bred a tall plant with a short plant, the offspring were all tall, rather than medium in height. Particulate inheritance means that traits are passed down in discrete elements, while blending inheritance is the idea that traits will be inherited as an average of the trait in both parents.

Mendel's findings were largely ignored by the scientific community at the time, which is why Darwin was unaware. It wasn't until the 1900s when other scientists rediscovered his work.