How does Morgan's work relate to modern genetics?
My work laid the foundation for modern genetics by establishing that genes are linear sequences on chromosomes, a concept now confirmed by DNA sequencing. The mapping techniques I developed—using recombination frequencies to determine gene order—are still used today, though now with molecular markers. The idea of linkage and crossing over is central to understanding genetic disorders and genome evolution. For example, when scientists study the inheritance of diseases like cystic fibrosis, they rely on the same principles of chromosome mapping I pioneered with Drosophila. The fly told us what is true, and that truth now guides everything from gene therapy to agricultural breeding. We need to do the experiment—that remains the core of genetics.
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