The advent of molecular cardiology stems from advances in knowledge of genetics spanning over 400 years. The seeds of what was to grow into a forest of knowledge were planted by Harvey, Leeuvenhoek, and Virchow. Mighty trunks arose from the works of Darwin, Galton, and Gregor Mendel (pea breeding experiments). Branches started shooting out with experiments on the fruit fly (Drosophila) and the works of Morgan, Garrod, Fisher, Haldane, and Penrose. After that, discoveries simply bloomed, culminating in human molecular genetics, the human genome projects, and the beginnings of the postgenomic era in which we are just starting to find out how the whole thing works. In this forest, molecular cardiology is but one tree, yet one that holds enormous promise for the future...