jan 1, 1900 - 1900: The Eugenics Movement

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In the history of DNA, the Eugenics movement is a notably dark chapter, which highlights the lack of understanding regarding the discovery at the time. The term 'eugenics' was first used around 1883 to refer to the "science" of heredity and good breeding.

In 1900, Mendel's theories, which had found a regular statistical pattern for features like height and colour, were rediscovered. In the frenzy of research that followed, one line of thought branched off into social theory and developed into eugenics.

This was an immensely popular movement in the first quarter of the 20th century and was presented as a mathematical science, which could predict the traits and characteristics of human beings.

The darker side of the movement arose when researchers became interested in controlling the breeding of human beings so that only the people with the best genes could reproduce and improve the species. It was often used as a sort of 'scientific' racism, to convince people that certain 'racial stock' was superior to others in terms of cleanliness, intelligence etc. It shows the dangers that come with practising science without true respect for humanity as a whole.

Many people could see that the discipline was riddled with inaccuracies, assumptions and inconsistencies, as well as encouraging discrimination and racial hatred. However, in 1924 it gained political backing when the Immigration Act was passed by a majority in the U.S. House and Senate. The Act introduced strict quotas on immigration from countries believed by eugenicists to have 'inferior' stock such as Southern Europe and Asia. When political gain and convenient science combine forces we are left even further from the truth and a society that respects those within. This is not too dissimilar from the tobacco industries of the 80s and the sugar industries of the current decade.

With continued scientific research and the introduction of behaviourism in 1913, the popularity of eugenics finally began to fall. The horrors of institutionalized eugenics in Nazi Germany which came to light after the 2nd World War completely extinguished what was left of the movement.

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