by KYW's Karin Phillips

A new exhibit opening Saturday at the Academy of Natural Sciences presents a fascinating look at the father of genetics.

All those things like gene variants, mitocondrial dysfunction, and cloning techniques actually got their start in 1865, when an Augustinian friar spent eight years studying 28,000 pea plants to determine the laws of inheritance, which has developed into the modern high-tech science of genetics. 
 
The exhibit begins with the life of Gregor Mendel, and uses videos and hands-on interactives.
 
Jacquie Genovesi, senior director of education at the Academy, says one display helps visitors determine their own dominant and recessive traits:

"Can you roll your tongue? People don't realize that that's a genetic trait. Something called a hitchhiker's thumb. Is your thumb straight or is it crooked? That's a genetic trait that's inherited."

The exhibit is at the Academy of Natural Sciences, on Logan Circle in Philadelphia, through September 28th.

(Photos by KYW's Karin Phillips)