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Period: Jan 12, 1579 to
Jean Baptiste Van HelmontLife Span
Jean Baptiste Van Helmont was an early modern period Flemish chemist, physiologist, and physician. Jean Baptiste was a believer of abiogenesis also known as spontaneous generation. source -
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Francesco Redi
Francesco Redi was an Italian physician, naturalist, and poet. Francesco Redi helped disproved the abiogenesis theory with his meat jar experiments. source -
Recipe For Mice by Jean Baptiste Van Helmont
After the death of Jean Baptiste Van Helmont a book of his studies was published. In his studies Jean claims to have found a recipe for mice using abiogenesis. The recipe claims that if you press a foul shirt to the mouth of a vessel in which there is wheat inseide with in days mice will grow from the wheat. In modern times this sounds rediculous however in the mid 1600s this seemed like a perfectly reasonable explaination. -
Maggots in Jars Experiment
In 1668 Redi published his book called “Esperienze intorno alla generazione degl’insetti” which translates to “Experiments on the Generation of Insects.” Francesco experimented by taking 6 jars and placed meat in all of them. He left two jars open out of the six, but covered the other four jars with gauze. Maggots developed in the open jars but did not develop in the gauze-covered jars. Therefore Francesco proved the maggots came from an outside source and did not come out of nowhere. -
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John Needham Life Span
John Needham was an English biologist and Roman Catholic priest. John Needham supported the theory of abiogenesis and conducted experements in which he thought proved abiogenesis. source -
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Lazzaro Spallanzani Life Span
Lazzaro Spallanzani was known as a Italian Catholic Priest, a biologist and physiologist. Lazzaro's research of biogenisis helped Louis Pasteur in his experiments in years later to come. source -
Boiling Broth Experiment
John Needham conducted an experiment in which he placed a broth, like solution into a flask and heated the flask to kill anything inside, then sealed it. After a few days Needham claimed there was growth of microorganisms. -
Researched Spontaneous Generation
Lazzaro Spallanzani researched spontaneous generation of cellular life in the year 1768. Spallanzani's experiment suggested that microbes are in the air and can be killed in extreme heat such as boiling which he proved in experiment disproving John Needham's findings. Along with the reproduction of cellular life, he discovered and described mammal reproduction, where he proved that a sperm and egg cell are required. -
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Louis Pasture life span
Louis Pasteur, a French chemist and microbiologist disproved abiogenesis by conducting his famous 1859 experiment. Pasteur was a believer of the biogenetic theory. Pasteur also came up with the term pasteurization which was the process of heating food to kill harmful microorganisms before human consumption. source -
Louis Pasteur gooseneck flask experiment
In 1859 Pasteur conducted and experimet to prove that life can only arise from preexisting life. He boiled a solution of sugar and yeast and placed it in a gooseneck flask. The way the flask was shaped did not allow dust particles or other particles besides air molecules could get into the flask. After weeks there were no changes in the solution, Pasteur then broke the neck off his flask and within days there was mold growth. This proves that the life form (mold) didn't come from nowhere.
