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Synopsis :

In this programme in the BBC documentary series 'The Ascent of Man', Dr Jacob Bronowski, a mathematician, biologist, science historian and author speaks about the discoveries of Gregor Mendel who studied at the University of Vienna for a short time. He made Austria, which was a famous centre for music, literature and the arts, a place where one revolutionary biological idea originated. Mendel, the founder of genetics, did experiments with pea plants and bees and established many of the rules of heredity. He came up with the theory of dominant and recessive genes. His work was not accepted during his lifetime. Years later, Mendel  gained posthumous recognition as the founder of the modern science of genetics. Dr Bronowski also looks at how the message of inheritance is passed from one generation to the next. In 1951,  the American geneticist James Watson teamed up with Francis Crick in Cambridge to decipher the structure of deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA which  carries chemical messages. There were theories about the double and triple helix model of DNA. In 1953, Watson and Crick deduced the correct double helix structure of DNA. Also in the programme, Dr Bronowski touches on the process of cloning by which copies of individuals are made. He feels that clones of human beings should not be made as they run against the whole current of human creation. He also notes that  humans are the only species that copulate face to face. This is because the expression of general equality is important in the evolution of man. Sexual selection for skills has always been important for both men and women. However, all cultures have special safeguards like the prohibition of incest to ensure variety.