Biogenesis x Abiogenesis

A controversy surrounding how Leeuwenhoek's animalcules and Hooke's cells originate lasted for more than 150 years and had a devastating effect on the progress of biology. Some people argued that these microbes originated from other living cells, but others maintained that they generated spontaneously from nonliving matter (abiogenesis). Several early scientists tried to disprove the theory of spontaneous generation. Among them were Francisco Redi, who in the late 17th century proved that maggots came not from the decaying meat but from flies, and Lazzaro Spallanzani, who, nearly a century later, found that when broth was boiled and sealed in jars, microbes did not develop. Nevertheless, the controversy continued, and it was not until the mid-19th century that the theory of spontaneous generation was disproved.