Question

What is “spontaneous generation” and why was it difficult to disprove?

Answer 1

According to spontaneous generation living organism derived from non-living matter. For example maggot get arise from non-living matter such as dead flesh

This theory was disproved but it was not an easy task. An Italian physician named Francesco Redi proposed a hypothesis that maggot arises from fly eggs which are too small to be seen. He performed an experiment to prove that flies produces maggot not the dead flesh.

He made an uncovered jar of meat as control group while he made covered jar with gauze having meat as variable group. The vaise allowed the air but not the flies. He observed that control group had maggots while variable didn't. And hence proved his hypothesis to disprove spontaneous generation.

Later on an English scientist again proposed that spontaneous generation is possible and can be proved by performing a different experiment. So since after Redi disproved the spontaneous generation it was still debatable that whether or not spontaneous generation occurs until Louis Pasteur said that air is necessary for life.

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