Genetics is a branch of biology concerned with the study of genes, genetic variation, heredity in organisms. Though heredity had been observed for millennia, Gregor Mendel, a scientist and Augustinian friar working in the 19th century, was the first to study genetics scientifically. Mendel studied "trait inheritance", patterns in the way traits are handed down from parents to offspring, he observed that organisms inherit traits by way of discrete "units of inheritance". This term, still used today, is a somewhat ambiguous definition of. Trait inheritance and molecular inheritance mechanisms of genes are still primary principles of genetics in the 21st century, but modern genetics has expanded beyond inheritance to studying the function and behavior of genes. Gene structure and function and distribution are studied within the context of the cell, the organism, within the context of a population. Genetics has given rise to a number of subfields, including molecular genetics and population genetics.

Organisms studied within the broad field span the domains of life. Genetic processes work in combination with an organism's environment and experiences to influence development and behavior referred to as nature versus nurture; the intracellular or extracellular environment of a living cell or organism may switch gene transcription on or off. A classic example is two seeds of genetically identical corn, one placed in a temperate climate and one in an arid climate. While the average height of the two corn stalks may be genetically determined to be equal, the one in the arid climate only grows to half the height of the one in the temperate climate due to lack of water and nutrients in its environment; the word genetics stems from the ancient Greek γενετικός genetikos meaning "genitive"/"generative", which in turn derives from γένεσις genesis meaning "origin". The observation that living things inherit traits from their parents has been used since prehistoric times to improve crop plants and animals through selective breeding.

The modern science of genetics, seeking to understand this process, began with the work of the Augustinian friar Gregor Mendel in the mid-19th century. Prior to Mendel, Imre Festetics, a Hungarian noble, who lived in Kőszeg before Mendel, was the first who used the word "genetics." He described several rules of genetic inheritance in his work The genetic law of the Nature. His second law is the same as. In his third law, he developed the basic principles of mutation. Other theories of inheritance preceded Mendel's work. A popular theory during the 19th century, implied by Charles Darwin's 1859 On the Origin of Species, was blending inheritance: the idea that individuals inherit a smooth blend of traits from their parents. Mendel's work provided examples where traits were not blended after hybridization, showing that traits are produced by combinations of distinct genes rather than a continuous blend. Blending of traits in the progeny is now explained by the action of multiple genes with quantitative effects.

Another theory that had some support at that time was the inheritance of acquired characteristics: the belief that individuals inherit traits strengthened by their parents. This theory is now known to be wrong—the experiences of individuals do not affect the genes they pass to their children, although evidence in the field of epigenetics has revived some aspects of Lamarck's theory. Other theories included the pangenesis of Charles Darwin and Francis Galton's reformulation of pangenesis as both particulate and inherited. Modern genetics started with Mendel's studies of the nature of inheritance in plants. In his paper "Versuche über Pflanzenhybriden", presented in 1865 to the Naturforschender Verein in Brünn, Mendel traced the inheritance patterns of certain traits in pea plants and described them mathematically. Although this pattern of inheritance could only be observed for a few traits, Mendel's work suggested that heredity was particulate, not acquired, that the inheritance patterns of many traits could be explained through simple rules and ratios.

The importance of Mendel's work did not gain wide understanding until 1900, after his death, when Hugo de Vries and other scientists rediscovered his research. William Bateson, a proponent of Mendel's work, coined the word genetics in 1905. Bateson both acted as a mentor and was aided by the work of other scientists from Newnham College at Cambridge the work of Becky Saunders, Nora Darwin Barlow, Muriel Wheldale Onslow. Bateson popularized the usage of the word genetics to describe the study of inheritance in his inaugural address to the Third International Conference on Plant Hybridization in London in 1906. After the rediscovery of Mendel's work, scientists tried to determine which molecules in the cell were responsible for inheritance. In 1911, Thomas Hunt Morgan argued that genes are on chromosomes, based on observations of a sex-linked white eye mutation in fruit flies. In 1913, his student Alfred Sturtevant used the phenomenon of genetic linkage to show that genes are arranged linearly on the chromosome.

Although genes were known to exist on chromosomes, chromosomes are composed of both protein and DNA, scientists did not know which of the two is responsible for inheritance

Sankt Georgen Graduate School of Philosophy and Theology is a higher education Jesuit college in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The school offers a 10-semester Magister in Catholic Theology and a 6-semester Bachelor in Philosophy. Post-graduate students may earn the degrees of Doctorate, or Habilitation. Additional interdisciplinary programs are offered as well; the campus, situated within a historic park in the Sachsenhausen district of Frankfurt, contains the classroom building, the office building, the academic library, the college restaurant, the major seminary, the college church, the Jesuit community. The campus hosts as well two institutions founded by the German Bishops' Conference: the "Institute for Global Church and Mission" and an Institute for Christian-Muslim relations, its library, with more than 12,000 volumes, stands out as the largest library for Christian-Muslim dialogue in Germany. The main college library, which incorporated the collections of various Jesuit libraries and holds nearly 500,000 volumes, is known for its rich collection of Jesuit-related literature.

In the interdiocesan major seminary, 30 seminarians of several German dioceses of Limburg, Osnabrück, are studying for the Roman Catholic priesthood. 20 post-graduate students priests, from all over the world are living in the same seminary, pursuing doctoral or licentiate programs. The school was founded in 1926 by the Society of Jesus as an academic seminary for training candidates to the priesthood only for the Diocese of Limburg, but soon for other German dioceses as well; until 1951 the school was an diocesan seminary, led by Jesuits. From 1951 until 1975, the school included two parallel institutions: the "Philosophical-Theological Academy" for diocesan candidates and the "Theological Faculty S. J." for Jesuit students. In 1976, the school began admitting lay theology students, these formed the majority of students. In 1986, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, since 13 March 2013 Pope Francis, spent a few months at the Sankt Georgen PTH to consult with professors on a dissertation project, however he has not further pursued the project.

The 1993 college church and the 2005 classroom building are both notable works of modern architecture. In 2009 the Institute for Global Church and Mission was founded. In liaison with the IWM stands the 2010 founded Student Initiative Rahel, which raises funds for disadvantaged students in Adigrat, northern Ethiopia, supports them with scholarships and accompanies them ideally. Due to personnel fluctuation among students at the Sankt Georgen Graduate School of Philosophy and Theology, the project has been phasing out since the end of 2017; the tasks of the support are taken over by the Adigrat Diocesan Catholic Secretariat and former graduates in Ethiopia. Oswald von Nell-Breuning SJ Aloys Grillmeier SJ Otto Semmelroth SJ Norbert Lohfink SJ Rupert Lay SJ Friedhelm Hengsbach SJ Medard Kehl SJ Bruno Schüller SJ Michael Sievernich SJ Jörg Splett Stephan Ackermann, Bishop of Trier Karl Josef Becker, theologian, cardinal Alfred Delp and philosopher of the German Resistance during the Second World War Farid Esack, South African Muslim scholar and political activist Luis Ladaria Ferrer, Archbishop, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith Jean-Claude Hollerich, Archbishop of Luxembourg Wilhelm Kempf, Catholic theologian, Bishop of Limburg 1949–1981 Federico Lombardi, Italian Jesuit, former director of the Holy See Press Office Juan Antonio Martínez Camino, Auxiliary Bishop in Madrid Blessed Johannes Prassek, priest opposing the Nazi regime, one of the Lübeck martyrs Wolfgang Rösch, vicar general of Limburg Jon Sobrino and theologian in El Salvador Michael Wüstenberg, Bishop of Aliwal Lothar Zenetti, German priest and writer Munich School of Philosophy

Townley Hall is a Georgian country house which stands in parkland at Tullyallen some 5 km west of Drogheda, County Louth in the Republic of Ireland. It was designed by Irish architect Francis Johnston for the Townley Balfour family and built between 1794 and 1798. Built in 1799, Townley Hall is regarded as a masterpiece in the classical style of Francis Johnston, the foremost Irish architect of his day, it sits in quiet seclusion of private grounds, approached by a long wooded avenue. Commissioned as a private home for the Townley Balfour family, it was designed to impress on the visitor not only the wealth and sophistication of a substantial landlord, but the craftsmanship available in the local area. Having undergone only minor alterations in over two centuries, this house is one of Ireland’s hidden architectural gems; the house is 27 metres square, built in local stone with simple neoclassical lines, broken only by a Doric portico. The interior is dominated by a spiral staircase in a domed rotunda.

The building replaced a previous house which once stood some 100 metres to the north of the present building 1. Entrance gates 2. Gate lodge 3. Kitchens. 4. Dove cote 5. Walled garden. 6. Farmyard. 7. Farmyard houses; the Townley estate had belonged to the Townley family since Cromwellian times. Blayney Townley, MP had inherited the wealth of his nephew, William Balfour, in 1739 and added Balfour to his surname; the Townley estate passed to his grandson Blayney Townley Balfour the MP for Belturbet, who in 1794 commissioned Francis Johnston to design the present house. Mrs Townley Balfour, wife of the grandson of Blayney jnr, died childless in 1955 and the property passed to her cousin David Crichton, he sold the house and 350 hectares of land in 1957 to Trinity College, Dublin for used as an agricultural school. In 1969 the college sold 200 hectares of farmland to the Land Commission and 150 hectares of woodland to the Forestry Department. In 1967 Professor Frank Mitchell of Trinity College bought the house with some 25 hectares of surrounding land and ran it as a study centre for several years.

The house is now owned by the School of Philosophy and Economic Science, a registered charity based in Ballsbridge Dublin, who use it as a residential study centre. The house and grounds are private and access is by appointment. Website of the estate "Townley Hall- History of the house". Retrieved 26 June 2014