Redi experiment (1665)

As late as the 17th century, people including some biologists are that some forms
of life were generated by spontaneous generation from inanimate matter. Although
this was rejected for more complicated forms such as mice, which were observed to
be born from mother mice after they copulated with father mice, there remained
doubt for such things as worms and insects whose reproductive cycle was unknown.
To test the hypothesis, Francesco Redi placed fresh meat in open containers [left]:
as expected, the rotting meat attracted flies, and the meat was soon swarming with
maggots, which hatched into flies. When the jars were covered so that flies could not
get in [middle], no maggots were produced. To answer the objection that the cover
cut off fresh air necessary for spontaneous generation, Redi covered the jars with
porous gauze [right] instead of an air-tight cover. Flies were attracted to the smell
of the rotting meat, clustered on the gauze, which was soon swarming with
maggots, but the meat itself remained free of maggots. Thus flies are necessary to
produce flies: they do not arise spontaneously from rotting meat.
Note that is unnecessary to observe or even imagine that are such things
as fly eggs, nor does the experiment prove that such exist. Redi's experiment simply
but effectively demonstrates that life is necessary to produce life.

Experiments of John Needham and Lazzaro Spallanzani

In 1745, John Needham briefly boiled broth, which contained both plant and animal
matter. He believed this brief period of boiling would kill any microorganisms living
in the broth. After sealing the broth mixture in a flask, he let it sit for three days.
After this period, the broth was cloudy and Needham used a microscope to observe
microbes present in the mixture. Needham concluded that these tiny organisms had
spontaneously generated from the non-living matter of the broth.
Later, Lazzaro Spallanzani conducted a similar experiment with results that
contradicted Needham's. Spallanzani boiled his mixtures for longer, and no
microbes showed up in his sealed flasks. He suggested that the microbes found in
unsealed broth samples came from microbes in the air. To develop on this idea of
microbes in the air, French chemist Louis Pasteur performed a test by passing air
through cotton filters, which trapped tiny particles in the air. The cotton was
dissolved in ether and alcohol, and the air particles settled in the liquid. Pasteur
determined that if these particles, which were found to be bacteria, were existent in
the air then they would contaminate any exposed material.

Both Spallanzani's and Pasteur's work disproved Needham's broth experiment and
its support for spontaneous generation. Needham's broth experiment had two
fundamental flaws. First, his boiling time was not sufficient to kill all microbes.
Second, his flasks were left open as they cooled, and exposure to the air could cause
microbial contamination.

While the broth experiment is deemed to be Needham's most significant work, he

also contributed to science in other important ways. In 1740, John Needham
performed experiments with pollen in water. This research demonstrated the
mechanics of pollen through the use of their papillae. He also showed that water
could reactivate inactive, seemingly dead microorganisms, like tardigrades.

In Lazzaro Spallanzani's Experiment he proved microorganisms could be killed by

boiling. He believed microbes move through the air and could be killed by boiling.
Spallanzani filled 4 flasks with a broth. One flask was left opened, one flask was
sealed, one flask was boiled and left open, and one flask was boiled and sealed. The
first flask was left open and turned cloudy, and microbes were found. flask two
remained sealed and again microbes were found and the broth was cloudy. Flask
three again the same thing happened. However in flask four the broth was not
cloudy and no microbes were found. This proved to Lazzaro that microbes do not
 form out of nowhere. If microbes formed out of nowhere then all flasks would have
microbes. Critics of Spallanzi said he killed the life force that was required for
spontaneous generation. This experiment paved the way for research later done by
Louis Pasteur.

Louis Pasteur Experiment: Refute Spontaneous Generation

This simple Louis Pasteur experiment is perfect for teaching kids the basics of
microbiology. The steps of his experiment are as follows:

1. Louis Pasteur designed an experiment to test whether sterile nutrient broth could
spontaneously generate microbial life. To do this, he set up two experiments. In
both, Pasteur added nutrient broth to flasks, bent the necks of the flasks into S
shapes, and then boiled the broth to kill any existing microbes.

2. After the broth had been sterilized, Pasteur broke off the swan necks from the
flasks in Experiment 1, exposing the nutrient broth within them to air from
above. The flasks in Experiment 2 were left alone.

3. Over time, dust particles from the air fell into the broken flasks of Experiment 1.
In Experiment 2, dust particles remained near the tip of the swan necks, but
could not travel against gravity into the flasks, keeping the nutrient broth sterile.

4. The broth in the broken flasks quickly became cloudy–a sign that it teemed with
microbial life. However, the broth in the unbroken flasks remained clear. Without
the introduction of dust–on which microbes can travel–no life arose. Thus, the
Louis Pasteur experiment refuted the notion of spontaneous generation.