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CHAPTER 2

Genetic Concepts

Then and Now

efore scientists and doctors could make a connection
Bbetween genes and illness, they first had to understand how
one generation passes down physical characteristics to the next.
Around 530 BCE, the Greek mathematician Pythagoras suggested
that inheritable traits came from the father, who transmitted
them to the human embryo in the womb. In his theory, the
mother’s body transferred nutrition to the fetus but no physical
features. Later, the ancient Greek philosopher Hippocrates (ca.
460–370 BCE) made remarkable observations about inheritance
without any direct evidence or knowledge of genes. Hippocrates
believed that semen passed on the instructions for building
a human and that the womb provided the raw materials for
creating the child. Hippocrates also suggested that acquired
characteristics could be passed down. For example, an Olympic
weight lifter who developed large muscles during his lifetime
would pass down his large muscle traits to his children. The
children, in turn, would have large muscles.

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