Gregor Mendel

Gregor Mendel (1822-1884), an ethnic German, was born in Austrian Silesia, Austrian Empire, nowadays Hyncice, Czech Republic. Johann Mendel, he took the name Gregor when entering the monastery, worked as a gardener and cultivated bees before entering the Philosophical Institute of Olomouc between 1840-43. His physics teacher recommended him to the Augustinian Abbey of Saint Thomas in Brno 1843 (Catholic). 1851 he went to the University of Vienna to study and returned to the monastery 1853 as a teacher mainly in physics.

He was encouraged by his university teachers and by colleagues at the monastery to study the variation of plants. Between 1856 to 1863 Mendel used some 29,000 pea plants in the monastery garden and deduced The Law of Segregation, i.e., the dominant and recessive distribution of 3:1 and The Law of Independent Assortment, i.e., traits vary independently of each other. He published these results in 1865.

Charles Darwin published his book Origin of Species 1859 and is said to have received a book of the 40 Mendel had printed, although another source claimed he did not know of the data. It is fascinating how the study of a natural phenomenon can lead to the discovery of a natural law. Genes had been found although they were not yet called as such. At the time most biologists held the belief of blending inheritance and Charles Darwin's attempt to explain inheritance with the theory of pangenesis was unsuccessful.

At the time Mendel did not get any response from his work from other scientists. He became abbot in 1868 and became an administrator. It was not until 1900 when his work was independently rediscovered by three scientists, Hugo de Vries, Carl Correns and Erich von Tschermak, that the field finally developed. Around 1936-47 evolution fused with genetics called the 'modern synthesis'.

Data from Wikipedia and New World Encyclopedia

Kissinger's 'one phone number' for Europe?

EUobserver / New treaty will not create 'one phone number' for Europe: "Summing up the one-number issue, Antonio Missiroli from the European Policy Centre wondered if the image of a 'Brussels-based switchboard' was not more appropriate to describe the new institutional set-up once the Lisbon Treaty comes into force."

Tomorrow there is going to be a dinner for the selection of the top two functionaries of the EU and the discussion continues as to whether we are dealing with the EU or with the member states. The Swedish EU commissioner elect, Cecilia Malmström, said that EU will continue to be important for issues that span the nations such as climate change, jobs-internal market, crime and peace. Malmström is apparently a federalistic European. I also consider myself a federalist, as long as these continue to exist.

Another continuous discussion is whether there is going to be more or less democracy in the EU as we now move into the era of the Lisbon Treaty? I would like to reiterate a post I made one and a half year ago after an interview of Vaclav Havel that was made in the Financial Times.

"We turn to Europe. Havel, a passionate pro-European, is keen that the European Union's constitutional Treaty should be kept alive despite its rejection in the recent Irish referendum. He is convinced the EU will muddle through, ignoring President Klaus' misgivings, says the Czech Republic should press on with ratification. Only then, he believes, should the EU consider a simpler Treaty: "It would be best now to select some three or four people who could create a beautiful, simple constitution that children could learn about at school."

So, Havel has a generational perspective on the EU and was right on the success of the Lisbon Treaty. This is music to my ears and now when the US-ASEAN summit has defined a rather distant realm, perhaps it will usher in a new climate of cooperation in Europe. Then later it might be time to even elect a president of the EU and finally get that phone number.