spontaneous generation

• Teoria biológica hoje refutada segundo a qual organismos vivos podem surgir espontaneamente a partir de matéria inanimada, como larvas de moscas a partir de carne em decomposição. Foi historicamente usada para explicar a origem das formas simples de vida até ser refutada por Louis Pasteur e outros no século XIX.

A now-discredited biological theory that living organisms can arise spontaneously from non-living matter, such as maggots appearing from decaying meat. This concept was historically used to explain the origin of simple life forms before being disproven by Louis Pasteur and others in the 19th century.

1. Obsolete biological theoryC1formal

   The now-disproven theory that living organisms can arise from non-living matter, such as maggots appearing from rotting meat.

   Geração espontânea

   • Spontaneous generation was once believed to explain the appearance of mice in stored grain.
   • Louis Pasteur's experiments disproved the theory of spontaneous generation.
   • Before the 19th century, many scientists accepted spontaneous generation as fact.