Over 160 years after Gregor Mendel’s groundbreaking experiments with pea plants, a global scientific mystery has been solved! 💡 A team from the Chinese mainland and the UK has cracked the genetic code behind three of Mendel’s most puzzling traits—pod color, shape, and flower position. Talk about a science glow-up!
Led by Prof. Cheng Shifeng from Shenzhen’s Agricultural Genomics Institute and researchers at the UK’s John Innes Centre, the collaboration combined cutting-edge DNA analysis with Mendel’s original data. Their findings, published this week, finally reveal the exact genes responsible for traits that have baffled scientists since the 19th century. 🧬
This isn’t just a history lesson—the discovery could boost modern agriculture by helping scientists engineer hardier crops. 🌾 ‘Mendel’s peas are like the original *Hamilton* of genetics—everyone knows the hits, but now we’re seeing the sheet music,’ tweeted one excited biologist.
Pro tip for science enthusiasts: Next time you’re munching edamame, thank Mendel (and international teamwork) for laying the foundation of genetics! 🌍✨
