From Gregor Mendel's first experiments with peas during the eighteenth century to the announcement of the Human Genome Project in 1998, genetics have become the key to cracking many of the scientific ideas of our age. How much do our genes determine our personalities? What makes us different from other species? What is revealed behind the controversy of genetically modified food or stem cell research? This volume is the ideal companion for students or general popular science readers who wish to know the facts behind the latest research and discoveries.