DE GUZMAN, ADRIAN Z.

DATE: 09 – 24 - 21
G12 – STEM2 TWAIN (BLOCK 5) SUBJECT TEACHER: MR. DANTE PASCUAL

GENERAL BIOLOGY 1
PERFORMANCE TASK:

THE THEORY OF ABIOGENESIS

When Oparin proposed that the primordial reducing atmosphere of early Earth
had a cocktail of inorganic substances (dubbed the "primordial soup") that could
have promoted the spontaneous creation of protein-like entities, he created the initial
scenario of current abiogenic theory (Oparin, 1953). Around the same period,
Haldane (1929) hypothesized that the oceans on early Earth were vastly different
from those we observe now, and that when mixed with solar radiation, organic
compounds may have developed.
The Urey-Miller experiment in
1952 was the most renowned
experiment establishing the viability of
modern abiogenic theory. Urey and
Miller created an instrument that
reproduced these circumstances and
provided electrical sparks to generate a
chemical reaction, based on the notion
that Earth's early atmosphere lacked
any free oxygen and was mostly made
up of hydrogen, methane, and ammonia
(Kastelein, 2009). The mixture was
tested after a few days and chemical
substances, including amino acids,
were discovered. This experiment has
been done several times with minor changes to the process, such as using UV light
as an energy source, with comparable results.
Since the energy source enables the atmospheric gases to form highly
reactive mixtures of chemicals (such as hydrogen cyanide and formaldehyde) that
bond easily to other molecules, the Urey-Miller experiment produces organic
compounds (Kastelein, 2009). The reaction of hydrogen cyanide, formaldehyde, and
ammonia, for example, can produce an amino acid.

THE THEORY OF SPONTANEOUS GENERATION

Spontaneous generation is a body of thought on the ordinary formation of
living organisms without descent from similar organisms. The theory of spontaneous
generation held that living creatures could arise from nonliving matter and that such
processes were commonplace and regular.
DE GUZMAN, ADRIAN Z. DATE: 09 – 24 - 21
G12 – STEM2 TWAIN (BLOCK 5) SUBJECT TEACHER: MR. DANTE PASCUAL

A strong opponent of spontaneous generation, the Italian

physician Francesco Redi set out in 1668 (even before van Leeuwenhoek’s
discovery of microscopic life) to demonstrate that maggots did not arise
spontaneously from decaying meat.

 Spontaneous generation is an obsolete theory which states that living

organisms can originate from inanimate objects.
 The theory believed that dust created fleas, maggots arose from rotting
meat, and bread or wheat left in a dark corner produced mice among
others.
 Although the idea that living things originate from the non-living may seem
ridiculous today, the theory of spontaneous generation was hotly debated
for hundreds of years.
 During this time, many experiments were conducted to both prove and
disprove the theory.

Francesco Redi filled two jars with decaying meat. The first was left unsealed; the
flies laid their eggs on the meat, and the eggs develop into larvae. The second jar
was sealed, and because the flies could not lay their eggs on the meat, no maggots
appeared.

Still, Redi’s antagonists were not convinced; they claimed that fresh air was needed
for spontaneous generation. So Redi set up a second experiment, in which he
covered a jar with a fine net instead of sealing it. No larvae appeared in the gauze-
covered jar, even though the air was present. Maggots appeared only when flies
were allowed to leave their eggs on the meat.
DE GUZMAN, ADRIAN Z. DATE: 09 – 24 - 21
G12 – STEM2 TWAIN (BLOCK 5) SUBJECT TEACHER: MR. DANTE PASCUAL

Red i’s results were a serious blow to the long-held belief that large forms of life
could arise from nonlife. However, many scientists still believed that small
organisms, such as van Leeuwenhoek’s “animalcules,” were simple enough to be
generated from nonliving materials.

SIMILARITIES AND DIFEERENCES

Abiogenesis and spontaneous generation are two ideas that attempt to explain how
life began on Earth and where living things come from. Both of these hypotheses
explain how life emerged from non-living matter. The origins of rudimentary species
are explained by abiogenesis, while the origins of sophisticated organisms are
explained by spontaneous generation. Both abiogenesis and spontaneous
generation state that living things originate from nonliving things. Both these theories
are no longer used, so they are obsolete theories.

The main distinction between abiogenesis and spontaneous generation is that

abiogenesis argues that all life began with inorganic molecules, whereas
spontaneous generation states that complex life emerges spontaneously and
continuously from nonliving matter.

REFERENCES:
 https://biol4141.wordpress.com/abiogenesis/
 https://microbenotes.com/experiments-in-support-and-against-spontaneous-
generation/
 https://www.microblife.in/what-is-the-theory-of-spontaneous-generation/
 https://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-abiogenesis-and-
spontaneous-generation/#:~:text=What%20are%20the%20Similarities
%20Between,so%20they%20are%20obsolete%20theories.