Behavioral Genetics: Weltanschauungs of Natural Law, Crime and Identity by Dallas F. Bell, Jr.
1. Introduction Genetics is a branch of biology that deals with the science of heredity and variation of organisms. In the 1800s, Gregor Mendel sought to understand mechanisms of inheritance. Over 3,000 years earlier, Moses recorded that Adam had begat a son (c. 3811 B.C.) in his own likeness and image (Gen. 5:3). Moses also wrote that the father of Israel, Jacob, selectively bred cattle, sheep and goats (Gen. 30:31-43). Around 61 A.D., the New Testament writer, James, noted that a fig tree can not bear olives (James 3:12). For thousands of years, people have known that animal and plant life produce the same animals and plant life. This means a kind or species produces the same kind or species with variations within its genetic parameters (Gen. 1:11-31). Mendel observed that inheritance occurs from traits called genes. All life has cells that contain genes molecularly structured in DNA. DNA is composed of a chain of nucleotides. Genetic information is contained ...