DIRECTIONS:

1. Prepare the poster (to be used for gallery walk) based on the topic assigned to
you.
2. Read through the resource materials provided as guide in making your own
synthesis.
3. The poster should be attractive and should contain important information.
4. Each group must synthesize the following details based on their understanding
and will
have to say it in their own words.
5. The poster should have the following details:
a. Topic/ Title (e.g. Biogenesis Theory)
b. Proponents (e.g. Francisco Redi)
c. Leading questions (based on the topic, pose very important question/s; it
should be appealing to audience such that they would be encouraged to read
through); (e.g. When did the first life forms emerged? Does life come from life or
non life? Explain how Francisco Redi proved the ‘Biogenesis’ theory

A. Special Creation theory: It is the oldest theory. Special creation theory states that
all living organisms are created by super natural power. It is a religious view. Opening
chapter of genesis says that on the 3rd day of creation, God brought forth living
creatures, first plants, then fish and birds, land mammals, and finally man. According to
Hindu mythology, life was the creation of Brahma, the supernatural being. Special
creation theory was discarded as it did not stand in scientific arguments.

The greatest supporter of this theory was Father Suarez. According to this theory life
was created by supernatural power. According to the Bible the world was created within
six days. On the first day God made the heaven and the earth, on the second day, He
separated the sky from the water, on the third day. He made the dry land and plants, on
the fourth day. He formed the sun, the moon and the stars, on the fifth day.

He made the fishes and the birds and on the sixth day, He formed the land animals and
human beings. The first man, Adam and the first woman, Eve were created by God.
According to Hindu mythology the world was created by God Brahma. Brahma is
considered the God of creation.

He created the whole universe with his desire. The first man was Manu and the first
woman was Shradha. Special creation theory lacks scientific evidences, on account of
which it is not accepted.
DIRECTIONS:
1. Prepare the poster (to be used for gallery walk) based on the topic assigned to
you.
2. Read through the resource materials provided as guide in making your own
synthesis.
3. The poster should be attractive and should contain important information.
4. Each group must synthesize the following details based on their understanding
and will
have to say it in their own words.
5. The poster should have the following details:
a. Topic/ Title (e.g. Biogenesis Theory)
b. Proponents (e.g. Francisco Redi)
c. Leading questions (based on the topic, pose very important question/s; it
should be appealing to audience such that they would be encouraged to read
through); (e.g. When did the first life forms emerged? Does life come from life or
non life? Explain how Francisco Redi proved the ‘Biogenesis’ theory

B. Cosmozoic theory:

According to this theory, life did not arise in our planet. But life was descended from
other planet where life existed previously. Helmholtz (1884) said that micro-organisms
from space came on earth along with meteorites and comets and then evolved into
higher organisms in water. Recently a piece of Martian rock has been recovered from
Antarctica. NASA has discovered fossils of bacteria-like organisms on this rock,
suggesting that life could have come on earth from outer space. Francis Crick and
Laslie Orgel argued that all organisms have molybdenum in their bodies. Plants
require it in nitrogen metabolism as the enzymes nitrogenase and nitrogen reductase
are catalysed by molybdenum. But molybdenum is a rare element on earth,
amounting to only 0.2% of all elements. Cosmozoic theory has recently been extended
to include the concept that some planet with primitive life must have collided with
earth and seeded it with life. Proponents of this theory are Richter (1865), Helmholtz
(1884) and Arrhenius (1908). Explorers like Eric von Daniken and Zecharia Sitchin go
a step forward in proposing that the universe has several planets having intelligent life
that is capable of space travel and that they have landed on earth in the past and
seeded it with life. They provide evidences of extraterrestrial visitations of earth in the
past from the writings on clay tablets recovered from Mesopotamia, which carry
accounts of extraterrestrial visitations and details of solar system, galaxies etc.

Theory of Panspermia or Cosmozoic Theory or Spore broth Theory:

This theory was proposed by Richter (1865). According to this theory, ‘protoplasm’
reached the earth in the form of spores or germs or other simple particles from some
unknown part of the universe with the cosmic dust, and subsequently evolved into
various forms of life. Helmholz (1884) speculated that ‘protoplasm’ in some form
reached the earth with falling meteorites.

Arrhenius (1908, Nobel Prize Winner of 1903 in Chemistry) postulated the (=

Panspermia Theory) and stated that organisms existed throughout the universe and
their spores etc., could freely travel through space from one star to the others. In fact,
panspermia theory is the alternative name of cosmozoic theory.

Evidences against Cosmozoic Theory:

Living matter cannot survive the extreme cold, dryness and ultra-violet radiation from
the sun required to be crossed for reaching the earth.
DIRECTIONS:
1. Prepare the poster (to be used for gallery walk) based on the topic assigned to
you.
2. Read through the resource materials provided as guide in making your own
synthesis.
3. The poster should be attractive and should contain important information.
4. Each group must synthesize the following details based on their understanding
and will
have to say it in their own words.
5. The poster should have the following details:
a. Topic/ Title (e.g. Biogenesis Theory)
b. Proponents (e.g. Francisco Redi)
c. Leading questions (based on the topic, pose very important question/s; it
should be appealing to audience such that they would be encouraged to read
through); (e.g. When did the first life forms emerged? Does life come from life or
non life? Explain how Francisco Redi proved the ‘Biogenesis’ theory

C. The Theory of Spontaneous Generation

The Greek philosopher Aristotle (384–322 BC) was one of the earliest recorded scholars to
articulate the theory of spontaneous generation, the notion that life can arise from nonliving
matter. Aristotle proposed that life arose from nonliving material if the material
contained pneuma (“vital heat”). As evidence, he noted several instances of the appearance of
animals from environments previously devoid of such animals, such as the seemingly sudden
appearance of fish in a new puddle of water.[1]
This theory persisted into the seventeenth century, when scientists undertook additional
experimentation to support or disprove it. By this time, the proponents of the theory cited how
frogs simply seem to appear along the muddy banks of the Nile River in Egypt during the annual
flooding. Others observed that mice simply appeared among grain stored in barns with thatched
roofs. When the roof leaked and the grain molded, mice appeared. Jan Baptista van Helmont,
a seventeenth century Flemish scientist, proposed that mice could arise from rags and wheat
kernels left in an open container for 3 weeks. In reality, such habitats provided ideal food
sources and shelter for mouse populations to flourish.
However, one of van Helmont’s contemporaries, Italian physician Francesco Redi (1626–1697),
performed an experiment in 1668 that was one of the first to refute the idea that maggots (the
larvae of flies) spontaneously generate on meat left out in the open air. He predicted that
preventing flies from having direct contact with the meat would also prevent the appearance of
maggots. Redi left meat in each of six containers (Figure 1). Two were open to the air, two were
covered with gauze, and two were tightly sealed. His hypothesis was supported when maggots
developed in the uncovered jars, but no maggots appeared in either the gauze-covered or the
tightly sealed jars. He concluded that maggots could only form when flies were allowed to lay
eggs in the meat, and that the maggots were the offspring of flies, not the product of
spontaneous generation.

Figure 1. Francesco Redi’s experimental setup consisted of an open container, a container sealed
with a cork top, and a container covered in mesh that let in air but not flies. Maggots only appeared
on the meat in the open container. However, maggots were also found on the gauze of the gauze-
covered container.
In 1745, John Needham (1713–1781) published a report of his own experiments, in which he
briefly boiled broth infused with plant or animal matter, hoping to kill all preexisting
microbes.[2] He then sealed the flasks. After a few days, Needham observed that the broth had
become cloudy and a single drop contained numerous microscopic creatures. He argued that the
new microbes must have arisen spontaneously. In reality, however, he likely did not boil the
broth enough to kill all preexisting microbes.
Lazzaro Spallanzani (1729–1799) did not agree with Needham’s conclusions, however, and
performed hundreds of carefully executed experiments using heated broth.[3] As in Needham’s
experiment, broth in sealed jars and unsealed jars was infused with plant and animal matter.
Spallanzani’s results contradicted the findings of Needham: Heated but sealed flasks remained
clear, without any signs of spontaneous growth, unless the flasks were subsequently opened to
the air. This suggested that microbes were introduced into these flasks from the air. In response
to Spallanzani’s findings, Needham argued that life originates from a “life force” that was
destroyed during Spallanzani’s extended boiling. Any subsequent sealing of the flasks then
prevented new life force from entering and causing spontaneous generation (Figure 2).

Figure 2. (a) Francesco Redi, who demonstrated that maggots were the offspring of flies, not
products of spontaneous generation. (b) John Needham, who argued that microbes arose
spontaneously in broth from a “life force.” (c) Lazzaro Spallanzani, whose experiments with broth
aimed to disprove those of Needham.

Disproving Spontaneous Generation

The debate over spontaneous generation continued well into the nineteenth century, with
scientists serving as proponents of both sides. To settle the debate, the Paris Academy of
Sciences offered a prize for resolution of the problem. Louis Pasteur, a prominent French
chemist who had been studying microbial fermentation and the causes of wine spoilage,
accepted the challenge. In 1858, Pasteur filtered air through a gun-cotton filter and, upon
microscopic examination of the cotton, found it full of microorganisms, suggesting that the
exposure of a broth to air was not introducing a “life force” to the broth but rather airborne
microorganisms.
Later, Pasteur made a series of flasks with long, twisted necks (“swan-neck” flasks), in which he
boiled broth to sterilize it (Figure 3). His design allowed air inside the flasks to be exchanged
with air from the outside, but prevented the introduction of any airborne microorganisms,
which would get caught in the twists and bends of the flasks’ necks. If a life force besides the
airborne microorganisms were responsible for microbial growth within the sterilized flasks, it
would have access to the broth, whereas the microorganisms would not. He correctly predicted
that sterilized broth in his swan-neck flasks would remain sterile as long as the swan necks
remained intact. However, should the necks be broken, microorganisms would be introduced,
contaminating the flasks and allowing microbial growth within the broth.
Pasteur’s set of experiments irrefutably disproved the theory of spontaneous generation and
earned him the prestigious Alhumbert Prize from the Paris Academy of Sciences in 1862. In a
subsequent lecture in 1864, Pasteur articulated “Omne vivum ex vivo” (“Life only comes from
life”). In this lecture, Pasteur recounted his famous swan-neck flask experiment, stating that
“life is a germ and a germ is life. Never will the doctrine of spontaneous generation recover from
the mortal blow of this simple experiment.”[4] To Pasteur’s credit, it never has.
DIRECTIONS:
1. Prepare the poster (to be used for gallery walk) based on the topic assigned to
you.
2. Read through the resource materials provided as guide in making your own
synthesis.
3. The poster should be attractive and should contain important information.
4. Each group must synthesize the following details based on their understanding
and will
have to say it in their own words.
5. The poster should have the following details:
a. Topic/ Title (e.g. Biogenesis Theory)
b. Proponents (e.g. Francisco Redi)
c. Leading questions (based on the topic, pose very important question/s; it
should be appealing to audience such that they would be encouraged to read
 through); (e.g. When did the first life forms emerged? Does life come from life or
non life? Explain how Francisco Redi proved the ‘Biogenesis’ theory

Biogenesis Theory

A Dutch tradesman and amateur microbiologist, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, observed

small organisms in dirty water and some material he scrapped from his teeth. These
organisms were called animalcules, what we call as protozoans today. This discovery
took Europe by storm and scientists were thrilled to find these animalcules. The most
pricking question in the minds of many was about the origin of these tiny creatures. This
doubt had only one answer, the one provided by the spontaneous theory of generation.

Over the years, many intelligent minds came up with theories that defied the theory of
spontaneous generation. An Italian physician and naturalist, Francesco Redi, could
prove in 1668 that life cannot evolve spontaneously. However, people who supported
biogenesis did not think that Redi's theory was applicable to microbes. Many other
scientists continued their attempts to dissolve the spontaneous theory of generation.
However, in 1745 an English biologist, John Needham, added chicken broth to a flask
and allowed it to cool. After few days, microbes did grow in the broth, and Needham
proposed it as a proof of spontaneous theory of generation. Needlam claimed that vital
life is needed for spontaneous generation of animalcules. His claim was challenged by
the Italian biologist Lazzaro Spallanzani in 1768, who repeated the experiment in a
sealed container. He found that there was no growth of microbes in the container.

Then, in 1858, a German doctor and pathologist, Rudolf Virchow, challenged the
spontaneous generation theory by proposing the theory of biogenesis. He stated thatm
"living cells can arise only from pre-existing living cells". This theory partly explained the
presence of animalcule under the microscope. However, without any concrete scientific
evidence, Virchow's theory was not accepted by everyone.

Louis Pasteur and Theory of Biogenesis

Louis Pasteur was a French chemist and microbiologist who is well-known for the
principle of vaccination, fermentation, and pasteurization. He was the first person to
successfully prove the theory of biogenesis. He proposed that there are organisms
present in the air that are not visible to the naked eye. However, he emphasized on the
fact that air did not give rise to living things. He carried out an experiment that would
dissolve the spontaneous theory of generation and prove the theory of biogenesis.

In his experiment, Pasteur heated a number of short-necked flasks containing beef

broth. After heating the flasks, he immediately sealed the mouths of some flasks and left
a few unsealed. After a few days, microorganisms were observed in the broth that was
in unsealed flasks. The sealed flasks had no microorganisms in them. This proved that
the creatures were present in the air and could contaminate the unsealed beef broth.

Now, to prove that air did not give rise to organisms, he demonstrated another
experiment. He again filled long-necked flasks with beef broth. The necks of the flasks
were bent into S-shaped curves. These flasks were then heated to kill any presence of
life in the beef broth. He then left the flasks as they were for a few days without sealing
them. This way, the air could reach the broth as it was not blocked. After a few days,
Pasteur observed the broth and found no microorganisms in it. This showed that the air
can access the broth, but the organisms are trapped in the S-shaped neck of the flask
and thus are not able to reach it.

This simple and ingenious experiment was enough to break the age-old theory of
spontaneous generation. The world could now understand that only a living thing can
give rise to another living thing. Thus, the belief of non-living things giving rise to living
things was shattered by a simple experiment conducted by Louis Pasteur.
DIRECTIONS:
1. Prepare the poster (to be used for gallery walk) based on the topic assigned to
you.
2. Read through the resource materials provided as guide in making your own
synthesis.
3. The poster should be attractive and should contain important information.
4. Each group must synthesize the following details based on their understanding
and will
have to say it in their own words.
5. The poster should have the following details:
a. Topic/ Title (e.g. Biogenesis Theory)
b. Proponents (e.g. Francisco Redi)
c. Leading questions (based on the topic, pose very important question/s; it
should be appealing to audience such that they would be encouraged to read
through); (e.g. When did the first life forms emerged? Does life come from life or
non life? Explain how Francisco Redi proved the ‘Biogenesis’ theory

Origin of Life: Modern Theory of Origin of Life

Modern Theory or Oparin-Haldane Theory of Origin of Life:
According to this theory life originated on early earth through physico-chemical processes of atoms
combining to form molecules, molecules in turn reacting to produce inorganic and organic compounds.
Organic compounds interacted to produce all types of macromolecules which organised to form the first
living system or cells.

Thus according to this theory ‘life’ originated upon our earth spontaneously from non-living matter. First
inorganic compounds and then organic compounds were formed in accordance with ever-changing
environmental conditions. This is called chemical evolution which cannot occur under present
environmental conditions upon earth. Conditions suitable for origin of life existed only upon primitive
earth.
Oparin-Haldane theory is also called chemical theory or naturalistic theory. A. I. Oparin (1894-1980) was
a Russian Scientist. He published his book “The origin of Life” in 1936 and an English edition in 1938.
J.B.S. Haldane (1892-1964) was born in England but migrated to India in July 1957 and settled in
Bhubaneswar, Orissa. He was biologist, biochemist and geneticist. Both Oparin (1938) and Haldane
(1929) gave similar views regarding the origin of life.

Modem views regarding the origin of life include chemical evolution and biological evolution:
A. Chemical Evolution (Chemogeny):
1. The Atomic Phase:
Early earth had innumerable atoms of all those elements (e.g., hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, nitrogen,
sulphur, phosphorus, etc.) which are essential for the formation of protoplasm. Atoms were segregated in
three concentric masses according to their weights, (a) The heaviest atoms of iron, nickel, copper, etc.
were found in the centre of the earth, (b) Medium weight atoms of sodium, potassium, silicon,
magnesium, aluminium, phosphorus, chlorine, fluorine, sulphur, etc. were collected in the core of the
earth, (c) The lightest atoms of nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, carbon etc. formed the primitive atmosphere.
2. Formation of Inorganic Molecules:
Free atoms combined to form inorganic molecules such as H2 (Hydrogen), N2 (Nitrogen), H20 (Water
vapour), CH4 (Methane), NH3 (Ammonia), C02 (Carbon dioxide). Hydrogen atoms were most numerous
and most reactive in primitive atmosphere.
First hydrogen atoms combined with all oxygen atoms to form water and leaving no free oxygen. Thus
primitive atmosphere was reducing atmosphere (without free oxygen) unlike the present oxidising
atmosphere (with free oxygen).
Hydrogen atoms also combined with nitrogen, forming ammonia (NH3). So water and ammonia were
probably the first molecules of primitive earth.
3. Formation of Simple Organic Molecules (Monomers):
The early inorganic molecules interacted and produced simple organic molecules such as simple sugars
(e.g., ribose, deoxyribose, glucose, etc.), nitrogenous bases (e.g., purines, pyrimidines), amino acids,
glycerol, fatty acids, etc.

Torrential rains must have fallen. As the water rushed down, it must have dissolved away and carried with
it salts and minerals, and ultimately accumulated in the form of oceans. Thus ancient oceanic water
contained large amounts of dissolved NH3, CH4, HCN, nitrides, carbides, various gases and elements.
CH4 + C02 + H20 —> Sugars + Glycerol + Fatty Acids
CH4 + HCN + NH3 + H20 —> Purines + Pyrimidines
ADVERTISEMENTS:
CH4 + NH3 + C02 + H20 —> Amino Acids
Some external sources must have been acting on the mixture for reactions. These external sources might
be (i) solar radiations such as ultra-violet light, X-rays, etc., (ii) energy from electrical discharges like
lightning, (iii) high energy radiations are other sources of energies (probably unstable isotopes on the
primitive earth). There was no ozone layer in the atmosphere.
A soup-like broth of chemicals formed in oceans of the early earth from which living cells are believed to
have appeared, was termed by J.B. Haldane (1920) as ‘prebiotic soup’ (also called ‘hot dilute soup’).
Thus the stage was set for combination of various chemical elements. Once formed, the organic
molecules accumulated in water because their degradation was extremely slow in the absence of any life
or enzyme catalysts.
Experimental Evidence for Abiogenic Molecular Evolution of Life:
Stanley Miller in 1953, who was then a graduate student of Harold Urey (1893-1981) at the University of
Chicago, demonstrated it clearly that ultra-violet radiation or electrical discharges or heat or a
combination of these can produce complex organic compounds from a mixture of methane, ammonia,
water (stream of water), and hydrogen. The ratio of methane, ammonia and hydrogen in Miller’s
experiment was 2:1:2.

Miller circulated four gases— methane, ammonia, hydrogen and water vapour in an air tight apparatus
and passed electrical discharges from electrodes at 800°C. He passed the mixture through a condenser.
He circulated the gases continuously in this way for one week and then analysed the chemical
composition of the liquid inside the apparatus. He found a large number of simple organic compounds
including some amino acids such as alanine, glycine and aspartic acid. Miller conducted the experiment to
test the idea that organic molecules could be synthesized in a reducing environment.
Other substances, such as urea, hydrogen cyanide, lactic acid and acetic acid were also present. In another
experiment Miller circulated the mixture of the gases in the same way but he did not pass the electric
discharge. He could not get the significant yield of the organic compounds.
Later on many investigators have synthesized a great variety of organic compounds including purines,
pyrimidine’s and simple sugars, etc. It is considered that the essential ‘building blocks’ such as
nucleotides, amino acids, etc. of living organisms could thus have formed on the primitive earth.

4. Formation of Complex Organic Molecules (Macromolecules):

A variety of amino acids, fatty acids, hydrocarbons, purines and pyrimidine bases, simple sugars and
other organic compounds accumulated in the ancient seas. In the primeval atmosphere electrical
discharge, lightning, solar energy, ATP and polyphosphates might have provided the source of energy for
polymerisation reactions of organic synthesis.
S.W. Fox of the University of Miami has demonstrated that if a nearly dry mixture of amino acids is
heated, polypeptide molecules are synthesized. Similarly simple sugars could form polysaccharides and
fatty acids could combine to produce fats. Amino acids could form proteins, when other factors were
involved.
Thus the small simple organic molecules combined to form large complex organic molecules, e.g., amino
acid units joined to form polypeptides and proteins, simple sugar units combined to form polysaccharides,
fatty acids and glycerol united to form fats, sugars, nitrogenous bases, and phosphates combined into
nucleotides which polymerized into nucleic acids in the ancient oceans.
Sugar + Sugar ———-> Polysaccharides
Fatty Acides + Glycerol ———-> Fats
Aminoacids- + Aminoacids ———–> Proteins
Nitrogenous Bases + Pentose Sugars + Phosphates ———> Nucleotides
Nucleotides + Nucleotides ———–> Nucleic Acids