biogénesis

Biogénesis, or biogenesis, is the principle that living organisms arise from pre-existing living matter. It stands in contrast to spontaneous generation and is a central tenet of modern biology, reinforcing concepts such as cell theory and heredity.

Historically, beliefs in spontaneous generation dominated for centuries. Francesco Redi’s experiments in 1668 showed that maggots on decaying meat came from eggs laid by flies, not from the meat itself. Later, Louis Pasteur’s 1861 experiments with long, curved-neck flasks demonstrated that broth remained sterile unless exposed to airborne microorganisms, providing strong evidence that life arises from existing life rather than from inanimate matter. Older experiments by Spallanzani contributed to the debate, though interpretations varied. Together, these studies solidified biogenesis as the mechanism by which life persists and propagates in the present day.

In modern biology, biogenesis describes how organisms reproduce and propagate through cellular processes and genetic inheritance. It encompasses growth, development, and the transmission of genetic information across generations. In virology, replication occurs within host cells, and discussions about whether viruses are living reflect the broader boundaries of the concept; nonetheless, biogenesis provides a framework for understanding how biological order is maintained in cellular life.

Biogenesis coexists with abiogenesis in origin-of-life research. Abiogenesis seeks to explain how life might have originated from non-living chemistry on early Earth, while biogenesis explains the ongoing generation of life from pre-existing life.