Question

Francesco Redi performed an experiment to show that
A) Maggots arise spontaneously in decaying meat.
B) Maggots do not arise spontaneously in decaying meat and are produced from the eggs of flies.
C) Life originated near water.
D) Life originated from basic organic compounds.

Answer 1

Hint:He is referred to as the "founder of experimental biology", and as the "father of modern parasitology". He was the first person to challenge the theory of spontaneous generation by demonstrating that maggots come from eggs of flies

Complete answer:
In 1665, to test the spontaneous generation of life hypothesis, Francesco Redi, an Italian scientist, performed an experiment for the spontaneous creation of maggot by placing fresh meat in an open container. As expected, the decaying meat attracted the flies and after some time the container was occupied with maggots which converted into flies. But when the jar was covered (air tight) so that no flies could get in the container, no maggots were produced. Redi further covered the container with a cloth so that it allowed the air passage. After several days, he noted that maggot were found on the exterior surface of the cloth. This time flies were attracted to the smell of the rotting meat, and the cloth was filled with maggot but none of them converted into fly because meat was free of maggot. He demonstrated that maggots come from the fly egg; none of them was spontaneously generated i.e. disapproving the spontaneous generation of life hypothesis. The decaying meat was providing only nutrition to the maggot which gets converted into flies. Which proves that flies are necessary to produce new flies i.e. all life comes from life, a new life is not spontaneously generated. Hence it was proved that rotten meat did not produce new maggots spontaneously, they were produced from the eggs of flies. Later on John Needham challenged the Redi's findings stating that life can be created from non-life. This theory was also discarded by Spallanzani's Experiment. The Experiment of Spallanzani also discarded the theory of spontaneous generation of life.

Thus, the correct answer is option “B” i.e. Maggots do not arise spontaneously in decaying meat and are produced from the eggs of flies.

Note:The experiments performed by Francesco Redi do not support the spontaneous generation of life. He concluded that life exists from pre-existing life but not from non-life.