biogeneesi

Biogeneesi, or biogenesis, is the principle that living organisms originate from pre-existing living matter. In its broad use, the term covers two related meanings: ontogenic biogenesis, the development of an individual organism from a fertilized egg or embryo, and the historical concept of life arising anew from non-living matter, which is now typically described as abiogenesis or origin-of-life research.

Historical context emphasizes the rejection of spontaneous generation as a universal source of life. In the 17th to 19th centuries, experiments by Francesco Redi, Lazzaro Spallanzani, and Louis Pasteur challenged the idea that life could arise from inanimate materials. Pasteur’s curved-neck flask experiments, in particular, supported the view that life arises from pre-existing life and helped solidify the cell theory, which posits that all known life is built from and propagates through cellular processes.

In modern biology, biogenesis is studied at several levels. In developmental biology, biogenesis describes the growth and differentiation of an organism from a zygote to an adult, guided by genetic programs and environmental cues. In the broader origin-of-life field, researchers distinguish abiogenesis—the emergence of self-sustaining, replicating systems from chemical precursors—from later biogenic processes that rely on cells and reproduction. The boundary between living and non-living matter remains a topic of discussion, particularly with the study of viruses, synthetic biology, and protocell models. Overall, biogenesis emphasizes heredity, replication, and metabolism as core features of living systems.