He conducted experiments with pea plants in the mid-19th century and his work, published in 1866, laid the foundation for our understanding of inheritance. He is considered the "father of genetics" because of his groundbreaking discoveries:
* Law of Segregation: Each parent contributes one allele for each trait to their offspring.
* Law of Independent Assortment: Alleles for different traits are inherited independently of each other.
While Mendel's work wasn't recognized until the early 20th century, his discoveries revolutionized the field of genetics and remain fundamental to our understanding of inheritance today.
