In this lecture Professor Betsey Dexter Dyer provides an overview of the thousands of years in which humans have applied practical genetics in their daily life. Looking at the varieties of animal breeds and types of vegetables, she show how humans used trial and error and guessing to create new breeds and types of vegetables. Over the course of thousands of years many methods were used to create these varieties with no real knowledge of the genetics or DNA at work in these variations. New breeds were created not just for practical use but also for their aesthetic beauty as well. Professor Dyer also touches on the genetic variations in humans which have occurred over the millennia.

For more information on this course or to get it on audio download check out: Basics of Genetics.