Biology / Unit 8 Bio 1735 short lesson, about 20 seconds
The Modern Synthesis
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The idea
The modern synthesis, taking shape by the 1940s, unified natural selection with Mendelian genetics, explaining how heritable variation, per Bio 1031, drives population evolution.
In practice
Rediscovering Mendel's 1866 particulate-inheritance work resolved the difficulty blending inheritance had posed for selection acting on discrete units.
Where people slip
Darwin and Wallace developed natural selection without knowing Mendelian genetics — the synthesis joined the two fields decades later.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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