Spontaneous Generation in the Dark Ages

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Example of spontaneous generation involving frogs.

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Frogs were believed to come from mud.

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Image of a frog in mud.

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Frogs were believed to come from mud as an example of spontaneous generation.

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Image of maggots on meat.

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Maggots were believed to come from rotting meat as an example of spontaneous generation.

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What did people in the Dark Ages think about the origin of life?

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They believed life arose from non-living matter.

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What did the Dark Ages theory of life suggest about maggots?

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Maggots were believed to come from rotting meat.

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Francesco Redi

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An Italian doctor who proposed the theory of biogenesis.

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Experiment by Francesco Redi

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He designed an experiment to test his theory.

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Redi's hypothesis about maggots

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Maggots come from eggs, not rotting meat.

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Control treatment in Redi's experiment

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No lid on the jars.

Front

Diagram showing jars with meat and flies

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Illustrates the setup of Redi's experiment with open jars.