If we are going to study life, we must explore and define what being alive means. We can start by getting in touch with ourselves. Conversely, we may consider what being dead or inanimate means. Next, we can start to describe our feelings of what life is. In our quest, we will discuss the work of many past and present scientists.
Abiogenesis is the theory that life comes from non-living matter.
Biogenesis is the theory that life comes from life. We discussed the ideas of Aristotle, Francesco Redi, John Needham, Lazzaro Spallanzani and Louis Pasteur . Our class is repeating Pasteur's experiment with the swan-necked flasks. Students are observing their flasks on a daily basis for any signs of life. At the end of a week, we will examine the broths microscopically for the presence of living organisms.