Explore the science of hereditary traits and learn how viruses can affect our DNA with this free online biology course.

Gregor Mendel is widely considered the ‘father of genetics’. He identified many of the rules of heredity, which determine how traits are passed through generations of living things, and found that such traits can skip a generation. This course introduces you to his work and explores every different combination of all the genes using the ‘Punnett square’.

The Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) states that allele and genotype frequencies in a population will not change from generation to generation where there is an absence of other evolutionary influences or disturbing factors. We discuss the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and provide examples to explain its application. We also study sex-linked traits, which form an important category of genetic linkage that is driven by X and Y sex chromosomes.

This biology course explains how these characteristics can have a physical manifestation like hair color or color blindness and establishes why some traits are passed on while others skip generations. We also investigate why some traits form part of our physical makeup while others are carried but never physically expressed. Hereditary science is fascinating so sign up to learn more about your biological heritage.