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360 BCE
Aristotle's Experiment
Aristotle- 360 BC
In 360 BC, Aristotle proposed that abiogenesis that lasted for 2000 years was believed that life can come spontaneously from non-living molecules. Aristotle also once saw maggots randomly arise from some rotting meat. -
Jean van Helmont's Experiment
In the year 1600, Jean Baptiste Van Helmont conducted a unique experiment. His experiment was to place a dirty shirt with some wheat together and then wait. According to him, 3 weeks later the mice were born in the shirt. According to a doctor, the sweat within the shirt was the active element to give life to the mice. -
Francesco Redi's Experiment
Francesco was known for being able to disprove the theory that maggots can be spontaneously generated from meat in a controlled experiment. How did he do this? He took some jars and filled each with meat. On half of them, he sealed with a top. Maggots only were found in the jar without the tops. -
John Needham's Experiment
In 1749, John Needham was experimenting with raw meat that was coming into contact with hot ashes. He noticed little organisms appearing that were not a part of the start of his experiment. He then inferred that this bacteria had to have originated from the raw meat. -
Lazzaro Spallanzani's Experiment
Lazzaro reviewed both Needham’s and Redi’s data and experiments. He figured that in Needham’s experiment, the heated bottle he used did not kill everything inside it. To disprove this, Lazzaro placed broth in two separate bottles. He then boiled both of these and sealed one of the bottles and then he left the other bottle open. He then saw that his unsealed bottle was contained signs of life, while the other bottle didn’t. -
Louis Pasteur's Experiment
Louis Pasteur created his experiment to re-create Spallanzani’s experiment. His experiment was very similar, except he made sure the system would have access to air. This disproved the theory that Spallanzani’s experiment wasn’t fair because he trapped out the air from his experiment.