It’s Not Your Grandmother’s Genetics Anymore! (Part 2)

Abstract

In a companion article, I discussed recent developments in genetics and the inadequacies of eight common claims made by biology teachers, followed by suggested replacement language for those statements. In the present article, I address nine more claims, about such topics as whether or not most human characteristics are inherited as simple Mendelian traits (determined by one gene with a dominant and a recessive allele), problems with the Central Dogma of Biology, misunderstandings about the inheritance of traits such as eye color, the relative importance of genetics versus the environment, “genes FOR” language, and junk DNA.