Question

Which one of the following experiments suggests that simplest living organisms could not have originated spontaneously from non-living matter ?

• A. Microbes did not appear in stored meat
• B. Larvae could appear in decaying organic matter
• C. Microbes appeared from unsterilized organic matter
• D. Meat was not spoiled, when heated and kept sealed in a vessel

Answer 1

Answer: (D)

Meat was not spoiled, when heated and kept sealed in a vessel

Answer 2

This experiment, often referred to as Louis Pasteur's experiment, demonstrated that microbial growth did not occur in sealed, heated containers of broth, providing evidence against spontaneous generation or abiogenesis (the idea that life could arise from non-living matter spontaneously). The other experiments listed involve different aspects of the debate on spontaneous generation but do not provide evidence against it like Pasteur's experiment did.

So, the correct option is (D): Meat was not spoiled, when heated and kept sealed in a vessel