Gregor Mendel's ACTUAL Paper ( NOT Others opinions of it) Essay

Gregor Mendel's ACTUAL Paper ( NOT Others opinions of it) - Essay Example Furthermore, the essay also considers the criticisms levied against Mendel’s experiments by noted geneticist R.A. Fisher, and also examines criticism relating to the paper’s rhetorical structure. The opening sections of Mendel’s paper examines past scientific formulations, with Mendel noting that while detailed experiments had been undertaken, nothing in-depth to the extent that it would allow the development of a predictive genetic structure over multiple generations. The first section in which Mendel details the tenants of his experiment is titled ‘Selection of the Experimental Plants.’ In this section Mendel indicates the specific elements he used in selecting plants for his experiment and why these plants are necessary to achieve sound results. Mendel indicates that the characteristics in the plants must be objectively determined (long vs. short stems), as well as observed in every generation (for instance color), and finally they must be able to be bred in a controlled environment. Finally, Mendel indicates that he has chosen a pea plant named a Pisum, as it fits these distinctions. In the next section Mendel details the purpose of his experiment. He states that he intends to investigate the variety in traits that are passed down over the series of generations from the breeding of plants. He distinguishes seven specific traits that he will be observing, chosen for the reasons articulated above. Mendel indicates that past experiments have determined that when two plants with differing traits are bred they exhibit traits from only one plant, not a combination or blending of the two. Mendel refers to the trait that appears in the newly bred hybrid plant as the dominant trait, whereas the trait that isn’t physically detectable the recessive trait. The first experiment section is titled ‘First Generation From the Hybrids’. This section