Final answer:
Patterns of inheritance have been studied since Mendel's pea plants experiments in the 19th century, and they encompass more than just simple Mendelian genetics. Non-Mendelian patterns like codominance, as well as other complex modes of inheritance, are now understood to play a significant role in how traits are passed on.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that patterns of inheritance have only recently become interesting to scientists is false. The study of inheritance patterns began with Gregor Mendel's experiments on pea plants in the 19th century. Since then, scientists have discovered that Mendelian genetics does not fully explain the complexity of inheritance. This is evident in non-Mendelian patterns such as codominance, where both alleles in a heterozygous organism are fully expressed, as in the case of black and white true-breeding mice producing gray offspring. There are also other modes of inheritance such as incomplete dominance, multiple alleles, polygenic traits, and epistasis that add to the diversity of how traits are inherited.
Moreover, the principle of dominance, one of the key features of Mendel's model, does not always apply. Alternatives to this model reflect our understanding of the genetic and molecular basis of inheritance. The subject also relates to developmental biology, where it's recognized that changes in genes important for embryonic development have been minimal since the divergence of various animal taxa, indicating that the concepts around inheritance have deep evolutionary significance.
The ability to explain deviations from Mendel's model, evaluate alternative scientific explanations and understand the complex inheritance patterns are essential skills as highlighted in educational objectives such as 3.A.4, 6.5, and 3.15.