Today, we take it as given that children have inherited genes from their parents, but the idea that parents pass on genetic material was a late development in science. Until the 19th century, those who considered the issue generally figured that parents made their children by a process analogous to fermentation.
When the field of genetics began to take off during the early 20th century, scientists attacked the problem of heredity with increasingly powerful statistical tools.
But even now, by itself, the mere knowledge that the differences between us are influenced by genes isn’t very satisfying.
Read the full, original story here: We Still Don’t Know Why We Look Like Our Parents
