BiogenesisBiogenesis OrOr ““LifeLife ”” ComesComes fromfrom ““LifeLife ”” DarwinianDarwinian EvolutionEvolution isis BasedBased onon SpontaneousSpontaneous GenerationGeneration oror ““AbiogenesisAbiogenesis ”” It was once thought that…………… DecayingDecaying MeatMeat GarbageGarbage “Abiogenesis ” the process of living material (‘life’) originating from non-living material (‘non-life’) TheThe IdeaIdea ofof SpontaneousSpontaneous GenerationGeneration isis NotNot ‘‘NewNew ’’ ItIt ’’ss atat LeastLeast 25002500 YearsYears Old!Old! The ancient philosopher Anaximander of Miletus ( 550 BC ) taught that life first generated by materialistic processes from sea slime. However, this idea failed to explain the issue of organic design: Why does the universe appear to be ordered and designed to function so well together? Origin of the Laws of Mathematics/Physics? Empedocles (450 BC ) was one of the first to appreciate this problem when he realized that the phenomenon of adaptive complexity required a specific naturalistic explanation. Empedocles proposed that the fantastic shapes of organic and inorganic objects was the result of the continual, random flux of matter. Everything that exists was generated by the purely chance interaction of all possible combination of elements, with those combinations that were ‘stable’ surviving. (….. But why is this not going on today? ) NaturalisticNaturalistic ExplanationsExplanations ofof OriginsOrigins MustMust BeginBegin withwith ““SpontaneousSpontaneous GenerationGeneration ”” “The universe began with a ‘big bang’ 15 billion years ago. The stars formed 10 billion years ago, the sun formed 5 billion years ago and the molten earth came into existence about 4.5 billion years ago”. “Water formed on the earth some 3.8 billion years ago and over hundreds of millions of years life formed from non-life through the processes of Natural Selection and Mutation ; then evolved into fish, then amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals, then ape-like creatures and then man—a process involving chemical & biological innovation, death and extinction.” SpontaneousSpontaneous GenerationGeneration oror AbiogenesisAbiogenesis WasWas DisprovenDisproven BeforeBefore DarwinDarwin PublishedPublished OriginOrigin ofof SpeciesSpecies The theory of abiogenesis or more commonly, spontaneous generation , was challenged by scientific experiments, such as those performed by the Italian biologist Francesco Redi in 1668 . Redi demonstrated that maggots (the young of flies) did not appear in meat from which adult flies were excluded. Previously, many scientists had believed that flies developed from decaying meat. Up until the late 1700’s some scientists still believed that mice were generated in piles of rotting garbage. But Darwinian Evolution is based on Spontaneous Generation! FrancescoFrancesco RediRedi ’’ss ExperimentsExperiments The theory of spontaneous generation was disproven by a series of scientific experiments performed by the Italian biologist and founder of ex perimental biology, Francesco Redi, and published in 1668 as Experiments on the Generation of Insects ; which is regarded as a milestone in the history of modern scienc e. In one experiment he put raw meat into three jars; one jar rema ined uncovered, one was covered with gauze & the third was sealed with a cork. Redi demonstrated that maggots (the larval stage of flies) did not appear in meat from which adult flies were excluded. Maggots only appeared on surfa ces accessible to flies such as the opened jar and the gauze on top of the jar. Also, when dead flies or maggots were put in sealed jars with de ad animals or veal, no maggots appeared, but when the same thing was done with living f lies, maggots did. He continued his experiments by capturing the maggots and obser ving them metamorphosizing into flies demonstrating their complete life -cycle. Although these experiments seem simplistic and self-evident compared to modern science, they were considered remarkable at the time. PerhapsBut, surprisingly, even more even surprising up until is thethat late prominent 1700 ’s some scientists scientists today still think that life arosebelieved spontaneously that mice were from generated a “primordial in piles soup of” rottiunderng thegarbage! “right ” conditions! LouisLouis PasteurPasteur ’’ss ExperimentsExperiments The theory of spontaneous generation was largely abandoned in the mid-1800's. By then, improvements in microscopes and other scientific instruments had enabled scientists to see the eggs and sperm of higher animals, the ovules (eggs) and pollen of plants, and bacteria and other microorganisms. For example, in the mid-1800's, the French scientist Louis Pasteur observed reproduction and growth in microorganisms. He demonstrated that the microorganisms would grow in sterilized broth only if the broth was first exposed to air that contained their spores (reproductive cells). Pasteur's discoveries led to the development of the cell theory of the origin of living matter. The cell theory is based on all life originating from pre-existing living material. This is also known as the “law of biogenesis ”. Living material always comes from living material. BiogenesisBiogenesis andand ““RecapitulationRecapitulation ’’ The term ‘biogenesis ’ has also been used in reference to the biogenetic (or recapitulation ) theory. This theory, which was popular during the late 1800's, stated that “ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny ”. This statement means that during its ontogeny ; that is, during its development in the embryonic stage each organism recapitulates (repeats) various stages in its species' phylogeny (evolutionary history). Scientists disproved this theory in the early 1900's. Recapitulation is classically depicted in Ernst Haeckel’s [faked] drawings. He was a German zoologist who lived from 1834 to 1919. Ernst Haeckel’s Fake Drawings ( top row ) ‘‘RecapitulationRecapitulation ’’ ErnstErnst HaeckelHaeckel ’’ss LegacyLegacy What the modern textbooks and encyclopedias fail to mention is that the original drawings of embryonic stages, by a German zoologist named Ernst Haeckel [1834-1919] , that supposedly shows that each animal during its growth as an embryo, repeats the changes its ancestors underwent, were found to be faked. Yet these pictures still appear in many modern biology textbooks to support the discredited theory of abiogenesis or spontaneous generation of living material. Thus, this false idea of spontaneous generation (abiogenesis ) is carried over into modern times. Note the following quotes from the Grolier’s and World Book encyclopedias…………... ……..Although..Although Discredited,Discredited, SpontaneousSpontaneous GenerationGeneration ,, oror ‘‘AbiogenesisAbiogenesis ’’ IsIs StillStill BeingBeing TaughtTaught asas Fact!Fact! “Although it is now known that all present life on Earth is the result of the reproduction of pre-existing life, many scientists accept a modified theory * of spontaneous generation to explain the origin of life itself. The theory holds that billions of years ago LIFE originated in the oceans as the result of spontaneous aggregations of dissolved organic molecules, which in turn arose from inorganic chemical reactions energized by ultraviolet light, electrical discharges, and heat.” Grolier’s Encyclopedia (1998) *The only thing that’s ‘modified’ is the hypothesis (although disproven) that Abiogenesis occurred at least once! TheThe ImpossibilityImpossibility ofof AbiogenesisAbiogenesis isis ExplainedExplained AwayAway AsAs aa ““OneOne --TimeTime EventEvent ”” “Today, most scientists believe that spontaneous generation took place at least once when certain chemicals came together to form the first simple living organism more than three billion years ago. This process is not thought to be occurring in nature today, since conditions on the earth no longer favor such chemical combinations. In addition, any simple organisms that did form in this way would almost certainly fail to compete successfully against more complex existing organisms. However, laboratory experiments since the mid-1900's have showed that many molecules found in living organisms can be synthesized (produced artificially). Most biologists believe that it will eventually be possible to produce simple forms of life in the laboratory*.” World Book Encyclopedia (1998) *Wrong! Please refer to the Creation Topic “Biogenesis” ButBut NoNo EvidenceEvidence ofof AbiogenesisAbiogenesis ‘‘OneOne --TimeTime EventEvent ’’ “Rocks of great antiquity have been examined over the past two decades and in none of them has any trace of abiotically produced organic compounds been found ….. So ancient are these rocks that they must have been lain down not long after the formation of the oceans themselves …….Considering the way the pre -biotic soup is referred to in so many discussions of the origin of life as an already established reality, it comes as something of a shock to realize that there is absolutely no positive evidence for its existence .” Michael Denton, Ph.D., Microbiologist, Evolution: A Theory in Crisis , (Adler & Adler, 1986), p. 261. Theory of Darwinian Evolution Violates the “Law of Biogenesis” • Life Is ALWAYS Observed As Coming From Pre -existing Life. This Is True Even in “Cloning ”. • Reversibility of Chemical Reactions in Water Works Against Spontaneous Generation of “Life ”. • Spontaneous Generation or Abiogenesis Has Never Been Observed or Successfully Demonstrated Under Laboratory Conditions. [e.g., next series of slides ] • Many scientists have tried to re -create “life