What conclusion did Francesco Redi draw after performing his experiment with flies and meat?
1 Answer
Maggots and flies don't spontaneously generate from rotting meat
Explanation:
Prior to Francesco Redi's experiment in 1668, it was supposed that life could be generated spontaneously, that maggots could simply appear on a piece of rotting meat, for instance. In fact, this was a theory that had been around since the time of Aristotle (and he died in 322 BC, so it was an idea nearly 2000 years old).
Redi tested this notion that life could spontaneously generate by placing 8 pieces of meat into containers. He covered 4 with muslin and left 4 totally open. Within days, there were maggots on the meat in the open containers but no maggots on the ones in the muslin covered containers.
He was therefore able to show that life didn't just spontaneously generate, that instead flies laid eggs in the rotting meat.
