What is biogenesis?In: Biology
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Biogenesis is the process of lifeforms producing other lifeforms, e.g. a spider lays eggs, which develop into spiders.
The term is also used for the assertion that living matter can only be generated by other living matter, in contrast to the hypotheses of abiogenesis which hold that life can arise from non-life under suitable circumstances, although these circumstances still remain unknown.
Until the 19th century, it was commonly believed that life frequently arose from non-life under certain circumstances, a process known as spontaneous generation. This belief was due to the common observation that maggots or mold appeared to arise spontaneously when organic matter was left exposed. It was later discovered that under all these circumstances commonly observed, life only arises from the replication of other living organisms. (wiki)
First answer by JEK. Last edit by Sugarplum9903. Contributor trust: 7 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 18 [recommend question].



