Question

Today we know that all life comes from other life, but this wasn’t always so obvious. For centuries, it was widely believed that some life forms could develop from non-living matter in a process known as spontaneous generation. Chemist Jan Baptist van Helmont (1580-1644), for example, wrote that if a soiled shirt was placed in a container of wheat for three weeks, the wheat would transform into mice! By the same token, it was believed that rotten meat left out in the sun would transform into maggots.

By the end of the 17th century, these ideas had been disproven. But then the microscope was invented, opening up a previously unseen world—that of microorganisms. Scientists believed that these tiny life forms were generated from dead matter. The principle of spontaneous generation was finally put to rest in the mid-1800s, thanks to the work of Louis Pasteur.

Based on this passage, what inference can we make?

A
The principle of spontaneous generation has not been ruled out.

B
As meat decomposes, it produces maggots (fly larvae).

C
The mice referenced by van Helmont consumed the wheat.

D
Bacteria and other microorganisms arise through spontaneous generation.

Answer 1

Based on the passage, the most logical inference we can make is:

**B**: As meat decomposes, it produces maggots (fly larvae.

The passage discusses the historical belief in spontaneous generation and how it was disproven, particularly with respect to the transformation of dead matter into living organisms. However, it also acknowledges that meat left out in the sun does indeed attract maggots, aligning with the understanding that maggots (fly larvae) come from the eggs laid by flies on the decomposing meat, rather than from spontaneous generation.