Controversies Therefore, the Origin had no effect on the design or conduct of those experiments although it may have influenced Mendel's interpretation of those experiments on hybridi Darwin's explanation of the uniformity of hybrids in the Fi generation and the variability of their F2 ofspring difers substantially from Mendel's in that darwin places the cause on altered reproductive systems rather than constant inherited traits Mendel never mentioned Darwin in his paper although he mildly contradicted some of the points that Darwin made in the Origin and supported a few others Mendel's apparent reserved rather than intense interest in the Origin may be due to his wel-known concern for detail Although the passages Mendel marked in the Origin briefly address phenomena that he observed experimentally, the book had little in the way of detailed results and explanations that would have been useful to him. Mendel may not have contacted Darwin because, under the circumstances, there was little to gain in doing so Fairbanks and rytting(2001)concluded that there was not enough evidence to believe that Mendel either strongly supported or opposed Darwin when he wrote his paper CONCLUSION FAirbanks and rotting(200D) Although Mendel's paper is considered a classic in the history of biology, it generated much controversy throughout the century that elapsed since the rediscovery of Mendelian laws in 1900. Scholars disagree about Mendel's integrity in his presentation, his articulation of the fundamental laws of inheritance, his experimental design, his motives for conducting his experiments, and his conclusions There is no credible evidence to indicate that mendel was inaccurate or dishonest in his description of his experiments or his presentation of data. The main questions about his results can be resolved by an appeal to botanical principles and historical evidence Mendel did not fabricate his data, his description of his experiments is literal He articulated the laws of inheritance attributed to him insofar as was possible given the information he had He did not detect linkage He neither strongly supported nor opposed DarwinControversies 8 • Therefore, the Origin had no effect on the design or conduct of those experiments, although it may have influenced Mendel's interpretation of those experiments on hybridization. • Darwin's explanation of the uniformity of hybrids in the F1 generation and the variability of their F2 offspring differs substantially from Mendel's in that Darwin places the cause on altered reproductive systems rather than constant inherited traits. • Mendel never mentioned Darwin in his paper although he mildly contradicted some of the points that Darwin made in the Origin and supported a few others. • Mendel's apparent reserved rather than intense interest in the Origin may be due to his well-known concern for detail. • Although the passages Mendel marked in the Origin briefly address phenomena that he observed experimentally, the book had little in the way of detailed results and explanationsthat would have been useful to him. Mendel may not have contacted Darwin because, under the circumstances, there was little to gain in doing so. Fairbanks and Rytting (2001) concluded that there was not enough evidence to believe that Mendel either strongly supported or opposed Darwin when he wrote his paper. CONCLUSION [Fairbanks and Rytting (2001)] • Although Mendel's paper is considered a classic in the history of biology, it generated much controversy throughout the century that elapsed since the rediscovery of Mendelian laws in 1900. Scholars disagree about Mendel's integrity in his presentation, his articulation of the fundamental laws of inheritance, his experimental design, his motives for conducting his experiments, and his conclusions. • There is no credible evidence to indicate that Mendel was inaccurate or dishonest in his description of his experiments or his presentation of data. The main questions about his results can be resolved by an appeal to botanical principles and historical evidence. • Mendel did not fabricate his data, his description of his experiments is literal. • He articulated the laws of inheritance attributed to him insofar as was possible given the information he had. • He did not detect linkage. • He neither strongly supported nor opposed Darwin