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First Rise of the Spontaneous Theory
"organic life could and does arise from inorganic matter"
- Maggots appeared on Rotting meat
- Fish appeared in ponds that had been dry the previous season (Mud made Fish) -
1657~1780s
Anton Van Leewenhoek, father of microbiology, invented the microscope. He spend his entire life to invent the microscope, and this microscope is used to disprove the spontaneous generation.
spallanzani and Pasteur used microscope to disprove it -
Italian Scientist Francesco Redi proved that the Spontaneous Generation Theory isn't true. He did a small experiment using fresh meat. In the jars that he putted fresh meat, he experimented if there is any maggots made inside. One was opened jar, one was covered with Gauze, and one was covered with the stuck
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Spallanzani boiled meat broth in open flasks. Then he sealed the flasks on the experimental group by melting the glass necks of the flasks closed. The broth inside remained uncontaminated by microorganisms. Even though he did experiment at about same time that Redi did his experiment, Spallanzani used microscope to see the organisms
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A flask with a curved but open neck prevented microorganisms from entering. The microorganisms were found only when the curved neck were removed from the flask. This could prove that the organisms can't be made in non living organisms if it didn't enter through the flask.
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Redi didn’t fully disprove the spontaneous theorem”.
To prove that Redi's experiment is wrong, he used the boiling broth in a flask, leaving it open to cool and then sealing it. In several days time, the broth was teeming with bacteria and mold. He claimed that this was proof of the existence of spontaneous generation for microorganisms.
